


The Ultimate Sacrifice

by RascalJoy (DarkQuill)



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: AU, Angst, Big Three children, F/M, Fatal Flaw, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Mark of Athena, cousin bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-11
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-04-20 03:58:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4772663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkQuill/pseuds/RascalJoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loyalty. Percy's fatal flaw. Before, it had always worked out. He always managed to save both his friends and the world. But now, he is faced with the ultimate sacrifice. And he just can't find the strength to do it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posted from Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Original publish date: 10-26-13
> 
> Important note: I HATE killing my favorite characters. Keep that in mind ;)

Percy staggered out of the Doors, practically dragging Annabeth along beside him. He stopped and blinked at the sudden brightness, unaccustomed to the light. Clouds covered the sun, but it still didn't change the fact that Tartarus had been blacker than night.

Tartarus.

Percy shuddered involuntarily. _Nope_ , he thought. _Bad self. Don't think about it, you'll just freak yourself out._

A cool breeze washed over him, and Percy sighed with relief. Fresh air, after so many days underground. He struggled forward a few more steps, than collapsed to the ground, taking Annabeth with him. He pulled her onto his lap and hugged her tight, closing his eyes and burying his face into her filthy hair.

"We made it," he whispered. "We actually made it."

Annabeth reached up and hugged his neck. "Of course, Seaweed Brain," she said, laughter dancing in her voice. "We're together."

Now that might have sounded corny, but to Percy, it meant everything.

"Together," he repeated.

They sat for a minute or two, too tired and relieved to go any farther.

Just then, a giant sigh came from the opening behind them, like something really big was inhaling. Percy felt it pulling on him, dragging them back toward the darkness.

"Nope!" he exclaimed, standing up and pushing forward with the last of his energy. "Not happening." But he wasn't making any headway. At this point, he was walking in place, struggling against an invisible force. It was like walking through a wind tunnel.

"Percy," Annabeth said, sounding slightly panicked.

"It's okay," Percy assured her. "We're fine." Even to himself, he sounded scared.

Inch by inch, step by step, they drew closer to the dreaded opening.

Percy yelled aloud in frustration. They had not come this far to be beaten by a stupid wind. He gritted his teeth, plowing forward and managing to stagger forward a few feet before the suction increased, dragging them until they were just outside the Doors, and he knew it was hopeless. They were going in.

Suddenly, he heard a shout of surprise, then something yanked his arm and dragged him clear.

He and Annabeth tumbled to the rocky ground a good twenty feet away from the opening, panting for breath.

Percy frantically yanked Riptide from his pocket, flicked off the cap, and swung at the figures above them before the sword had fully expanded.

Someone yelped in surprise, and his sword stopped with a clang as something blocked it from its intended target.

"Whoa!" a familiar voice cried. "It's us! It's cool! We're cool!"

Percy finally focused on what was in front of him, and realized that he had been stopped by a very familiar golden sword. He followed the blade with his eyes up to the handle, to the hand holding it, then up the arm to find himself looking up into the striking blue eyes of Jason Grace. He realized that Jason had stopped Riptide just before it had cut a very panicked looking Leo in half. Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Nico flanked them, each looking down at Percy with a mixture of apprehension and relief in their eyes.

Percy let his sword clatter to the ground in front of him, almost sobbing with relief. "Sorry," he managed.

Jason studied him critically, then his face split into a grin. "Hey, no problem. Right, Leo?" He elbowed Leo in the ribs.

"Oof! Yeah, no problem. Sure I almost got split like a coconut, but still, no problem."

Percy closed his eyes and let his head loll backward onto the ground, too tired to do anything else. Instinctively, he reached his hand out to the side, searching for a familiar palm. He wasn't disappointed. Annabeth's slender hand slipped into his, and for a moment it was just him, Annabeth, and their joined hands. They had survived Tartarus. They kind of deserved a little break.

"Made it," Annabeth breathed next to him.

"Yep," he agreed. Suddenly, he realized something disturbing. His eyes flickered open and he peered up at his friends. "Hey, where's Gaea's army?" he asked. "I thought she was guarding these Doors with all she's got."

Leo grinned. "Oh, them? Well, thanks to Beauty Queen over here, we dumped the Athena Parthenos in the entrance, which pretty much caused mass panic among the giants. All we have to do is keep back the few monsters brave enough to venture farther than Athena's glow. Sweet, huh?"

Piper was blushing. "Leo!" she protested. "It wasn't _that_ amazing! And don't call me Beauty Queen!"

Leo shrugged. "Whatever, Beauty Queen."

She punched him in the arm. "Repair Boy," she growled.

"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his arm.

Annabeth nodded approvingly in Piper's direction. "Good thinking, Piper. Worthy of a daughter of Athena."

Piper blushed even deeper. "Uh, thanks," she stammered.

Percy tried to get up, but his legs simply wouldn't support him. He fell back on his back with a grunt of annoyance. "Fine, be that way," he scolded his feet.

"Um, Percy? You okay?"

He looked up to see all of them looking at him with concern. _No, I am_ not _okay_ , he wanted to yell. _I just escaped from hell, for Zeus's sake._ But he managed a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied.

Jason held out his hand, and Percy took it, reluctantly releasing Annabeth and hauling himself to his aching feet. Instantly, he pitched into Jason, almost sending them both tumbling.

"Whoa, man," Jason said, his voice laced with concern. "You okay?"

Percy shook himself to try and clear the spots from his vision. "Fine," he said. "Just tired." To prove his point, he pushed himself off of Jason. He swayed slightly as he stood, but at least he didn't fall over again. He leaned down and grasped Annabeth's hand, and just managed to pull her to her feet without tipping. He wrapped his arm under hers to keep her upright.

"Here, let me help," Jason said, reaching out to support Annabeth.

Percy flinched backward. "It's okay, we're good," he said, a little too quickly.

Jason frowned, but stayed back.

There was an awkward silence, soon broken by a loud boom and monsters screaming in victory.

They turned and saw, to their horror, that the monsters were launching grappling hooks and lines around the Athena Parthenos. Their intentions were clear: to pull it over so it would smash against the rocky ground.

"We'd better stop them," Jason said, drawing his sword. "The last thing we need is for our number one—not to mention only—defense smashed to rubble." He started toward the entrance, followed closely by the others. "You two stay here," he ordered. "You've been through enough in the past few weeks to fight three wars over."

As much as he wanted to, Percy couldn't really argue with that. He was almost too tired to stand, let alone fight. He limped carefully over to the wall and helped Annabeth settle down on the ground with her back against the rock. He plopped down beside her, exhaling slowly.

"We're alive," he said, reaching out to take Annabeth's hand.

"Yeah," she said softly, moving so she was leaning against his shoulder.

Percy turned to watch the battle unfold, trying to keep back the flicker of annoyance of his own helplessness.

Jason was flying around the Athena Parthenos, cutting the lines as fast as he could while Leo set the stuff around the statue's feet on fire. But no matter how fast they cut them, more just kept coming until they had almost completely tangling the Athena Parthenos with black rope.

"Oh gods," Annabeth gasped. "They're not trying to pull it over. They're trying to block out its light."

Percy realized that she was right. Every line thrown wrapped around the statue multiple times before coming to a halt. Their friends, seemingly unaware of the danger, only focused on the lines leading into the crowds of monsters, leaving the rest hanging off the statue like a giant black spider web, slowly but surely extinguishing Athena's powerful aura.

"We have to warn them," Annabeth cried.

Percy heaved himself upright, barely stopping his head from smashing against the rock wall as he teetered sideways. "Schist," he hissed.

"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked, one eyebrow raised.

"The rock, not the word it sounds like. Inside joke, tell you later." He shook the spots out of his eyes, trying to get his vision to focus. He took a deep breath, and thrust one foot forward, pushing himself carefully off of the wall. His knees buckled slightly, but held his weight. "I'm going to tell them," he said.

"Then I'm coming with you," Annabeth announced, moving to stand up.

Percy stooped down and gripped her shoulders, keeping her firmly seated on the ground.

"No, Annabeth. You stay here," he said gently.

She glared up at him, her grey eyes flashing defiantly. She opened her mouth to speak, but Percy beat her to it.

"Your ankle isn't fully healed yet. You should rest in case…" he trailed off, but they both knew what he was thinking: in case the Athena Parthenos wasn't enough. In case the monsters broke through the barrier. "Besides," Percy continued, "you can keep an eye on the Doors. Let us know if something's coming up on our backs. I doubt the monsters inside will avoid the light for much longer."

Annabeth stared up at him, and Percy knew she saw right through his feeble attempt to convince her to stay. He had expected as much. If he'd learned anything from being around her for nearly six years, it was that Annabeth wasn't stupid. Even the mere thought of her being stupid was stupid.

Her eyes filled with a fierce resolve, and Percy thought she was going to call him off as a liar. Then she did something he didn't expect: she reached up and grabbed a fistful of the fabric that used to be blue jeans. "Promise me you'll come back," she said, grey eyes boring into his. "Promise me I'll see you again."

"Of course I'll see you again," Percy said, trying to sound lighthearted. "Why wouldn't I?" But as he spoke, something flickered on the edge of his mind. A disturbing thought that he couldn't quite place a finger on. He pushed it aside. He'd figure it out later.

Annabeth continued to look at him, waiting expectantly.

"I promise," he said, leaning down and kissing her gently.

When they finally pulled away, Percy was surprised to see tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Good luck, Seaweed Brain," she whispered.

That same strange flicker of doubt flashed through Percy's mind again, but his foggy brain wasn't fast enough to catch it before it had danced out of his thoughts again.

Percy pecked her lightly on her dirty cheek. "Be back soon," he promised. He turned and began to walk slowly toward the exit opening of the temple, his unsteady steps becoming faster and more confident as his legs seemed to finally understand what he wanted them to do. He glanced back at Annabeth who was watching him walk away, and a growing sense of foreboding overcame him with every step he took.

Suddenly, he heard a loud yell coming from just ahead. He swiveled around to look back at the statue, and gasped in horror. A stray line had somehow snagged Jason's ankles, yanking him from the sky, the stray end wrapping around Athena's waist. Jason's head smacked painfully against the marble, and he hung limply upside down from the line, swaying hypnotically back and forth like a pendulum.

Percy screeched to a halt and brought his fingers to his mouth, whistling as loud as he could. He prayed to all the gods that his friend was somewhere nearby. He wasn't disappointed. No sooner had his fingers left his mouth when a familiar black shape swooped down in front of him, rearing on his hind legs in joy.

 _Yo, boss!_ Blackjack said in Percy's mind. _You're alive!_

Percy managed a smile. "Yeah, Blackjack. Still trying to figure out how."

Blackjack snorted indignantly. _You're the boss, boss. Of course you're alive._

Percy suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Enough of the boss. Do you think you can give me a lift? I'd hate to leave Jason stranded."

_You've come to the right horse, boss. Hop on._

Percy did just that—or at least tried to. His muscles and joints creaked in protest as he swung one leg up, and he fell back to the ground.

Blackjack crouched low so that Percy landed flat on the horse's back instead of the marble floor. _Hey, boss, you okay?_ he asked worriedly.

Percy gritted his teeth, struggling to keep thoughts of Tartarus from his mind. He didn't want the pegasus to freak out anymore than he already was. "Fine," he grumbled. "Just tired." He winced at how stupidly obvious that was. He'd already used that same excuse with the others, but Blackjack didn't need to know that. He carefully swung a leg over the kneeling Blackjack, and the pegasus slowly stood up.

Percy gripped the black mane, fighting off a wave of nausea as Blackjack took to the air, flapping his wings hard to gain altitude. It was all Percy could do to stay on as his friend fought his way higher and higher into the sky.

"Take me as close as you can," he told the horse, trying to keep his voice from shaking. Heights had never been a problem for him before, but after falling almost endlessly in the dark, it was kind of hard not to at least be wary.

The pegasus whinnied in reply and glided toward the stranded son of Jupiter, pulling up about ten feet in front of the stunned blonde's swinging form.

 _This is about as close as I can get, boss_ , Blackjack said.

Percy eyed the gap between him and his cousin. Too far to jump. But if he could manage to reach the ropes that held him…

"Jason!" he yelled.

Jason stirred and moaned, reaching up to rub the lump on his forehead, opening his eyes to find himself staring down into nothingness. "Ah!" he exclaimed, jerking violently as he tried to get loose.

"Jason!" Percy called again.

Jason wiggled around and managed to make eye contact. "Percy? How—what—"

"You got hit by a stray line," Percy explained. "Listen, get ready to fly. I'm going to cut you loose."

Jason nodded, which looked kind of funny when he was upside down.

"Blackjack, can you get me within swinging range?"

Blackjack cocked his head, seemingly contemplating the situation. _I'll try_ , he decided. He slowly glided forward, halting seven feet from the statue before whinnying in frustration. _I can't get any closer, boss! I'll wack Sparky in the face!_

Percy raised an amused eyebrow. "Sparky?"

"What?" Jason cried, trying to pull himself up to untie the line wrapped around his legs, but not having much luck as he swung around crazily like a fish on a hook. "What do you mean by 'Sparky'?"

"Nothing," Percy said. He uncapped Riptide and made a cautious swipe at the rope. He cursed as the blade hissed a good two feet away from his target. He leaned forward as far as he dared, one hand gripping Blackjack tightly.

 _Yow!_ Blackjack cried. _Watch the mane!_

"Sorry," Percy mumbled. He tried to stretch the final few inches, and his legs began to slip off Blackjack's back. He jerked back instantly, almost falling off Blackjack's other side as he fought to stay on.

_Whoa! Hey, boss, calm down!_

Percy lay pressed against Blackjack, his heart pounding like crazy. His breath came in fast, shallow bursts, and his arms and legs had firmly wrapped themselves around the horse's belly. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Blackjack's silky mane, trying to push the memories away.

_Falling, falling, falling. Seemingly trapped in time, not knowing how far or how long it had been going on for. Hours? Weeks? No way to tell. Only the constant knowledge of imminent doom once it finally ended._

"Percy! Percy!"

Percy started slightly as he was pulled from his thoughts, feeling slightly disoriented. "Wha—?"

Jason was craning his neck to look at him as he swung around like a marionette in the wind, his expression concerned. "You okay?" he asked.

Blackjack had turned his head to the side and was looking at him worriedly with one eye. _You blacked out for a second, boss. What was that all about?_

Percy took a shaky breath, forcefully unlocking his grip on Blackjack's ribcage and sitting back upright. "Nothing," he said. "Just—nothing."

Neither of them seemed convinced. The truth was, even Percy had no idea what had just happened. He decided not to dwell on it. There were more pressing matters that required his attention at the moment, like cutting his yo-yo cousin loose.

"Hey, Blackjack, fly a little higher," Percy suggested.

Blackjack obliged, fluttering about ten feet above Jason's feet.

Percy reached into his pocket, pulled out his pen, and uncapped it, feeling a slight sense of comfort as the familiar weight of the bronze blade grew in his palm. "Jason, get ready to fly," he ordered. He didn't wait for an answer, but swung outwards with Riptide, severing the rope that had held his cousin aloft.

Jason free fell about ten feet before he managed to break his momentum, coming to a halt fifteen feet from the hard earth. He shot upwards like a rocket, coming to a stop just outside of Blackjack's huge wingspan.

"Thanks, man," he said gratefully.

Percy gave a quick salute. "Anytime, Grace."

Jason studied him closely. "You sure you're okay?"

Percy opened his mouth to respond, but a flicker of movement caught his eye. He turned to look, squinting into the inky blackness of the temple below. Were the Doors…moving? Two figures, Frank and Hazel, were pressed against the outside Door, slowly closing the gap. He glanced around quickly and confirmed that Piper and Leo were at the statue's feet, piling up hay bales around the perimeter for some reason. But if they were down there, who was on the Tartarus side? He felt his heart stop. Frantically, his head jerked to the side, scanning the place where he had left Annabeth. She wasn't there.

"Oh my gods," he wheezed.

"What?" Jason demanded. "What's wrong?"

But Percy had already urged Blackjack downwards. He jumped off the pegasus's back before he had even landed, rolling to break his fall. He leapt to his feet and flat out sprinted toward the nearly closed Doors.

"Annabeth!" he yelled, struggling to squeeze through the narrow opening.

Someone grabbed his shoulder and yanked him out.

Percy immediately went into combat mode. He brought his arm up and around, effectively twisting out of his attaker's grasp as he pulled his pen from his pocket and pulled off the cap in one fluid motion. But before he could swing, a huge hand encircled his right wrist, keeping his sword pointing firmly upwards. He lashed out with his left, hoping to take his attacker by surprise, but his fist was stopped in the same way. Just as he was about to kick the thing in an uncomfortable place, a voice finally broke into his panic: "Percy, stop it!"

He turned to realize that Hazel was standing just behind his attacker, looking scared and horrified. That was when Percy finally took a good look at his so-called 'attacker.' He realized with a shock that he was being held in place by Frank's fists. He blinked owlishly up at his friend. "What was that for?" he asked.

Frank let forth a short, bitter laugh. "I would say the same to you."

Percy shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry. Thought you were a monster or something. Let me go now?"

Frank's eyes flashed with pity, but his fingers remained firmly clamped around Percy's wrists. He shook his head. "No," he said simply.

Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?"

"Because I said so."

Percy turned to see the stern face of Annabeth Chase peeking out from between the Doors. He moved to go toward her, only to remember that Frank still had him securely locked between his fingers. A cold hand gripped his heart as he realized what was happening. "Annabeth," he pleaded, "don't do this to me."

Annabeth smiled, but it never reached her eyes. "You know someone has to do it, Seaweed Brain. Ask Frank."

Percy glanced questioningly at said person, who looked extremely uncomfortable.

"You know that time when Mars visited me?" Frank said finally. "Back at my Grandmother's house?"

Percy nodded.

"Well, he told me about fatal flaws, and how every hero has one. He told me that yours was loyalty. He—he said—well, he said that someday you were going to have to make a decision that you couldn't make. And—and I'm supposed to help you with my sense of duty, or something."

Percy stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?" he croaked. An ominous creak echoed from the Doors. Percy's knees went weak as the gap became a crack.

"I love you," came a voice from inside. Annabeth's voice.

"No!" he cried. In desperation, he dug his nails into Frank's wrists. Frank yelped in surprise and pain, giving Percy the opening he needed to wrestle out of his iron fists. He shot toward the Doors, his eyes zeroed in on the minuscule opening.

But he was too late.

The final inches closed just as he slammed into the heavy marble slabs, the bolt slamming home with an ominous _BOOM!_

"No! Annabeth!" Percy struggled to undo the bolt, but something pulled him back. He whirled around to find Jason gripping his shoulder.

"Percy," he said, eyes full of pain. "She's gone."

Percy stared at him in incomprehension. Annabeth couldn't be gone. She was Annabeth. She couldn't…she shouldn't…

And then it hit him like a sledgehammer. She had sacrificed herself to close the Doors of Death. She wasn't coming back. His vision tunneled on the army of monsters barely held back by the light of the Athena Parthenos as Leo set the hay bales ablaze, forming a ring of fire just outside of the statue's powerful aura. All it did was add a more evil atmosphere around the…the monsters that had taken Annabeth from him. And for that, they were going to pay.

Hardly realizing what he was doing, he picked Riptide off the ground. His breath coming in short, angry bursts, he started toward his target, the edges of his vision taking on a red tinge. He slowly sped up until he was flat out sprinting, undeterred by the flames leaping fifteen feet in the air. Without breaking stride, he snatched a spear off the ground, not quite sure where it came from, but too angry to care. A horrible, pained scream echoed off the marble walls of the temple, and he dimly realized it was coming from his own mouth. Red shadowy figures that may have been his friends retreated from his path, shouting incomprehensibly at him as he charged the only thing standing in his way. Heat blistered his skin as he shoved the speartip into the ground, vaulting lightly over the red tongues of flame that licked at his tattered shoes.

He landed feet first on a hellhound's spinal cord, successfully snapping it in half and driving the beast into dust on the ground. Before the monsters had recovered their wits, he had killed a dozen assorted beasts, easily cutting down everything within reach.

He dimly heard his friends calling to him from the other side of the barrier, yelling at Leo to get them through, but the words meant nothing to him.

He plowed forward, sword cleaving through the monsters like dry sand. He didn't think about what he was doing, he just slashed at anything and everything in his path. Blood pounded through his brain, almost like a headache, and he was pretty sure the ground was shaking at his feet. But he didn't care. All he cared about was revenge.

A drakon got a lucky slash at his leg, but Percy barely felt it. He just stabbed it through the chest and turned to cut a telkhine that had snuck up behind him. The monsters fell before him like grain to a scythe as he plowed his way through the army, a path of destruction in his wake. He was completely surrounded, but he found he liked it that way. Now he could attack on all sides.

Then, unexpectedly, the monsters around him started to back up. Step by step, they retreated from the deadly arc of his sword.

Percy yelled in annoyance and anger, lunging toward the nearest hellhound.

That did it. As one, the entire army of monsters turned and fled, as if running from the plague.

Percy stood there as the monsters ran all around him, not quite understanding what was going on. It finally registered as the last snake slithered past that his foes were gone.

"Get back here, you cowards!" he roared, waving his sword in the air. He began to sprint after them, determined to destroy every single one of their beastly hides, when something grabbed him by the shoulders and held him back.

Percy swung Riptide blindly into the air at his attacker, tired of being grabbed and determined to destroy every last one of Gaea's army.

"Whoa!" Jason cried, ducking out of range just in time. "Percy. Calm down. They're gone. It's over."

Percy just looked at him in utter incomprehension. Jason's words translated into something else, something that meant so much more to him then a fleeing army of monsters: Annabeth's gone. He looked over Jason's shoulder, just making out the closed Doors of Death on the other side of the valley, and all the energy drained out of him. He collapsed to the ground, letting Riptide fall next to him, and began to cry, one thought circling through his shell-shocked mind: _Annabeth's gone_. His frail body shook as uncontrolled, slightly hysterical sobs burst from his mouth, and he made no effort to contain them. He was dimly aware of others coming up behind Jason, all turning to stare at him in awe as the earthquake subsided, but he ignored them. Annabeth was gone. That was all that mattered.

A wave of exhaustion overcame him, and he felt his system shutting down. Exerting that much energy immediately after escaping Tartarus probably wasn't the best idea on his part. He could almost hear Annabeth's voice, playfully chiding him for his foolishness, and he sobbed all the harder. He willingly let the blackness overcome him as his broken body just gave up. He crumpled forward, barely aware that arms had caught him before he could hit the ground. Tears still streaming down his cheeks, he allowed himself to be carried off into a deep, miraculously dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posted from Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Original publish date: 11-2-13
> 
> Disclaimer: I usually don't do these, but I felt it was necessary this time because I have small snippets from Rick's actual books in here. So, I do not own PJO and HoO and I hope nobody but Rick ever does.

During the next few minutes…hours…days…whatever, Percy spent bouncing half in and out of consciousness. Every time he sort of woke up, he couldn't quite get a grasp on reality, so he just went back under again.

"—a freaking earthquake," someone said during one of his conscious spells, maybe Frank. "Gaea didn't do that. That was Percy."

"I can't believe he did that," another voice said, probably Jason. "Just out of Tartarus, covered with too many open wounds to count, completely exhausted, and then he goes and starts an earthquake while fighting off an entire army of monsters. Did you see them run? It was like Jupiter himself was chasing them."

"He was angry," a softer voice—Hazel, he realized—explained. "After—you know. Annabeth."

Before he could hear anymore, he had fallen unconscious once more.

The next time Percy woke up, it was to the creaking of floorboards as someone approached.

"Hey, Percy," a person said, and Percy recognized him as Frank. "I'm—I'm sorry. About everything. I—I wish it could have been done differently. I shouldn't have let her go." He trailed off, unsure of what to say next. "She—she wanted you to have this," he whispered, putting something down with a slight clunk on something wooden beside him.

Percy could feel Frank's eyes on him, hoping for some reaction, but he feigned sleep, which wasn't hard since his consciousness was already fading.

Finally, Frank sighed, and Percy heard his heavy footsteps head away. "I—I'm sorry," he repeated.

Before the footsteps fully receded, Percy had already fallen into darkness once more.

When he finally regained full consciousness, he heard low voices somewhere close by. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting the source of the voices to know he was awake. He slowly reached out to his right to knudge Annabeth awake, if she wasn't aware of the intruders already. But instead of Annabeth's back, he felt his hand come in contact with a wooden wall. He was lying on something soft and cushy—a bed?—with a pillow under his head and blankets covering him up to his waist. Then he remembered what had happened: escaping Tartarus, freeing Jason, Annabeth…dying. The details were still fuzzy, but he found he wanted it to stay that way. Then he realized that whoever was with him was still talking, unaware that he was conscious.

"—if he doesn't wake up soon," someone, Piper, was saying, "I'm not sure if he ever will."

Percy felt a lump of guilt rise to his throat. His friends had taken care of him for—he didn't even know how long. And then he repays them by completely avoiding any form of contact with them the few times he'd been partially conscious. Granted he hadn't even been thinking straight the few times he had been awake, but still, they must think he was in a coma, or something.

 _Gee_ , he thought cynically, _not only am I the worst boyfriend in the world, but I'm a pretty bad friend too._

He took stock of his situation. His entire body was aching. No exceptions. His lips were chapped and his throat was dry, his mouth tasting like the bottom of Annabeth's sneaker.

Oh gods.

He fought back a wave of nausea as he remembered the climb up the side of Polyphemus's island.

* * *

 

_They only came close to dying six or seven times, which Percy thought was pretty good. Once, he lost his grip and he found himself dangling by one hand fifty feet above the rocky surf. But he found another handhold and kept climbing. A minute later Annabeth hit a slippery patch of moss and her foot slipped. Fortunately, she found something else to put it against. Unfortunately, that something was his face._

_"Sorry," she murmured._

_"S'okay," he grunted, though he'd never really wanted to know what Annabeth's sneaker tasted like._

* * *

 

Percy pulled out of the memory with a gasp, his eyes still stubbornly closed as he retched, bile rising up his dry throat and burning like acid. He moaned quietly. He would willingly _eat_ Annabeth's dirty shoe if it meant getting her back.

The voices subsided, and Percy felt two people's gazes fixed on him.

Footsteps shuffled in his direction. "Percy?" Piper asked gently.

Percy struggled to open his eyes, his eyelids feeling like lead. He managed to open them into tiny slits, squeezing them shut immediately as bright light assaulted his sensitive pupils.

"Jason, turn the lights down," Piper ordered.

The light beating against his eyelids slowly dimmed, and Percy slowly opened them once more. He flinched slightly at the sight of Piper bending over him, watching him intently.

She gave him a small smile. "Hey, you're up," she said softly. "Feeling okay?"

Percy turned to face the wall, squeezing his eyes shut as tears threatened to fall. Annabeth was dead. His body felt like it had been run over by a semi more than once. How could he be okay?

Piper seemed to get the message. Wordlessly, she picked up a glass of water sitting on the night stand, lifting his head with one hand and raising the glass to his lips with the other.

Under normal circumstances, Percy would have been offended at being babied in such a way. But at the moment he was too miserable to care as he greedily drained the glass, the water feeling like heaven to the dry tissue in his mouth and throat. He followed Piper's hand wistfully as she put the now empty glass on the stand. An enormous lump rose to his throat as he saw something else resting on the polished wood.

A familiar bronze dagger. Annabeth's dagger.

He stared at it, unable to quite comprehend what he was seeing.

Piper saw what he was looking at and her face softened, sadness dancing in her eyes. She looked questioningly up at Jason, who had been standing uncomfortably in the middle of the room during the one-sided conversation.

"Frank left it there," he explained quietly. "Annabeth told him to give it to you."

Annabeth. In Tartarus. No weapon. That sealed her doom.

Percy didn't even realize he was crying until Piper dabbed his cheeks with a spare bandage, carefully laying his head back onto the pillow. He tried to stop the tears, ashamed of breaking down in front of his friends, but they refused to be stemmed as he continued to stare at the last part of Annabeth he'd ever have. He hardly noticed when Piper pulled the sheets up to his chin and proceeded to tuck him in like a little child.

She crept away to the door, snatching Jason's hand and dragging him out with her, leaving Percy to wallow in his misery.

* * *

 

Percy hadn't known he had fallen asleep until he woke up to a dark, empty room. He groaned painfully as he struggled into a sitting position. The moment he sat up, a wave of nausea washed over him, his head spinning like a top. He dry heaved onto the bed, his stomach thankfully empty. The last think he wanted was to sit in his own vomit.

A shadow flickered against the wall, and Percy immediately tensed. Slowly, he turned his head, his hand reaching for his pocket only for him to realize he didn't have one. He glanced down at the night stand where Annabeth's dagger lay, and saw to his relief that his pen was there too.

Another shadow flickered in the corner, then another against the wall. Percy's heart pounded crazily in his chest as he snatched up Riptide, fingering the cap. The darkness seemed to press against him, slowly crushing him until he could barely breath. He could almost hear the cold laughter of Tartarus as the blackness continued to close in, determined to smash him under its weight.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to stop hyperventilating as his lungs seemed to be squashed. The darkness advanced mercilessly, invading his senses and preventing him for seeing any dangers in the impenetrable mass. And preventing him from finding his girlfriend.

* * *

 

_"Annabeth!"_

_Percy stumbled through the dark, holding his sword aloft as he scanned the surrounding darkness._

_"Annabeth, where are you?" he called._

_No answer._

_He had woken up about ten minutes ago to find himself lying on a cold, stone ground. He had realized that the fall was finally over. How he had survived, he didn't know. But the more important thing at the moment was figuring out where Annabeth had landed._

_He couldn't see anything. Every where he turned it was dark, dark, dark. He almost felt like he was drowning in the inky soup._

_"Annabeth!" he cried desperately._

_A low moan echoed off somewhere to his right._

_He whirled in that direction, slowly walking forward as he stumbled over rocks and loose gravel hidden by the thin layer of mist hiding the rocky floor._

_"Annabeth," he called again._

_"Here," came a whisper, somewhere ahead of him._

_He tripped over a particularly big rock and tumbled to the ground, barely preventing his sword from stabbing him in the stomach. He sat up, completely disoriented._

_"Keep talking," he said, trying to sound reassuring. "I'll find you."_

_"Percy," she breathed, sounding terrified._

_A low hiss echoed from the same direction as her voice, almost sounding like laughter._

_Panic gripped Percy's heart as he leapt to his feet and ran forward despite the darkness, determined to save his girlfriend. Finally, he saw her._

_She was lying on top of a large rock, staring in terror at something above her head._

_Percy started forward, but stopped in horror as he saw what she was looking at._

_Crouching in the shadows on a ledge above them was an enormous, hideous spider woman. Arachne. Somehow on the way down, she had escaped her woven prison. And she looked angry._

* * *

 

He pulled himself free with a gasp, the same panic he'd felt during whatever that had been still gripping his heart. That was the last straw.

He rolled out of bed, ignoring the stars that erupted in his vision as he staggered to his feet, his whole body protesting.

Percy stolidly ignored the pain, almost frantic to get out of this enclosed space. He stumbled toward the door, the blankets from the bed tangled around his feet as if to keep him from escaping. He kicked them into the wall and flung the door open, revealing the pitch black hallway. Getting desperate, he uncapped Riptide, feeling minute comfort as the familiar bronze glow of his sword illuminated the hall. He stepped out of the door, his muscles trembling with strain as he walked as fast as he could.

The walls seemed to press in one him, the darkness seemingly invading the Riptide's bronze light.

 _Stop it_ , he pleaded with himself. _It's just your imagination._

But that didn't change the fact that he was absolutely terrified as he tripped up the stairs and onto the deck. He didn't stop until he reached the rail where he promptly collapsed to the deck, gulping in huge lungfuls of fresh air.

He hung his head in his hands, biting back a sob. What was wrong with him? He could almost here Tartarus's voice, taunting him: _Oh, is the little hero of Olympus afraid of the dark? What a weakling. Who wants a leader who can't even sleep without a night light?_

"Shut up," Percy growled, though it ended up sounding like the whine of a scared little puppy.

His muscles practically screamed in agony, making it clear that they hadn't been ready for his mad flight to the deck. He ignored them, pulling himself upright until he was leaning heavily against the wooden rail of the _Argo II_. He pressed against it, looking out at the star filled sky. Almost unconsciously, he found himself mapping out the constellations Annabeth had taught him so long ago: Pegasus, Gemini, and finally Hercules. He glared up at the latter, feeling utterly disgusted and angry, though he wasn't sure why.

"Think you've got bad luck?" he snarled up at the stars. "I think I've got worse."

Hercules did not reply.

Percy glanced down over the rails, his vision swimming as he looked down at the countryside below. He quickly backed away, tripping over his own sore feet and landing with a thud onto the deck. As he reached out to steady himself, he realized that he had something in his hand besides his sword. It was Annabeth's dagger. He had been too busy trying to escape the darkness to realize he had taken the knife with him. He stared at it blankly, a tidal wave of memories washing over him, and like a riptide, threatening to drag him out and under.

* * *

 

 _She glanced at the minotaur horn in his hands, then back at him. He imagined she was going to say,_ You killed a minotaur! _or_ Wow, you're so awesome! _or something like that._

_Instead, she said, "You drool when you sleep."_

_Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her._

* * *

 

_He was desperate. He had to keep Annabeth alive. He imagined all the bubbles in the sea—always churning, rising. He imagined them coming together, being pulled toward him._

_The sea obeyed. There was flurry of white, a tickling sensation all around him, and when his vision cleared, Annabeth and he had a huge bubble of air around them. Only their legs stuck into the water._

_She gasped and coughed. Her whole body shuddered, but when she looked at him, he knew the spell had been broken._

_She started to sob—horrible, heartbroken sobbing. She put her head on his shoulder and he held her._

* * *

 

_"So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?"_

_The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. He said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And…I think I owe you a dance."_

_She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain."_

* * *

 

_"Put your cap back on," he said. "Get out!"_

_"What?" Annabeth shrieked. "No! I'm not leaving you."_

_"I've got a plan. I'll distract them. You can use the metal spider—maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on."_

_"But you'll be killed!"_

_"I'll be fine. Besides, we've got no choice."_

_Annabeth glared at him like she was going to punch him. And then she did something that surprised him even more. She kissed him._

_"Be careful, Seaweed Brain." She put on her cap and vanished._

* * *

 

_"You're laughing at me," he complained._

_"I am not!"_

_"You are_ so _not making this easy."_

 _Then she laughed for real, and she put her hands around his neck. "I am never,_ ever _going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."_

_When she kissed him, he had the feeling his brain was melting right through his body._

_He could've stayed that way forever, except a voice behind them growled, "Well, it's about time!"_

_Suddenly the pavilion was filled with torchlight and campers. Clarisse led the way as the eavesdroppers charged and hoisted them both onto their shoulders._

_"Oh, come on!" he complained. "Is there no privacy?"_

_"The lovebirds need to cool off!" Clarisse said with glee._

_"The canoe lake!" Connor Stoll jeered._

_With a huge cheer, they carried them down the hill, but they kept them close enough to hold hands. Annabeth was laughing, and Percy couldn't help laughing too, even though his face was completely red._

_They held hands right up to the moment they dumped them in the water._

_Afterward, he had the last laugh. He made an air bubble at the bottom of the lake. Their friends kept waiting for them to come up, but hey—he was the son of Poseidon, he didn't have to hurry._

_And it was pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time._

* * *

 

"Hey, um, you okay?"

A voice ripped through Percy's memory train, and he glanced up from Annabeth's dagger to see the concerned, slightly nervous face of Leo Valdez.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked numbly.

Leo's fingers tapped incessantly on his leg, his eyes flitting back and forth between Percy and the darkened sky. "Um, I've been here the whole time. Flying the ship." He gestured behind him to the control panel.

"Oh."

Leo's gaze wandered down Percy's torso, and his eyes widened.

Percy followed his gaze and realized that he was wearing nothing but a pair of white boxers and bandages. Anc his exposed skin was not a pretty sight. Thick white scars crisscrossed his body, ugly yellow bruises peppering his skin like some sort of disease.

Percy self consciously pulled his knees up to his chest, trying to hide the worst of his scars behind his bandaged legs.

Leo jumped slightly as he realized he had been staring, his eyes flicking around, looking at everything but Percy.

They sat in awkward silence, each not quite knowing what to say.

"Listen, man," Leo said finally. "I'm—I'm sorry about—you know."

Annabeth's dagger gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

"Don't worry about it," Percy snapped.

Leo flinched at the harsh tone, and Percy felt slightly guilty.

"Sorry," he said. "Just—tired."

Leo bobbed his head so hard it looked like it was going to come off. He turned, presumably to head back to the controls, but then he swiveled around again, opening his mouth to say something, then closing it again, looking slightly unsure. He seemed to make up his mind and said, "Does your coming up here have anything to do with…Tartarus?"

Percy struggled to fend off the darkness, but it was too late as he sank back into the past.

* * *

 

_Arachne hissed in anger, foam dripping off her razor sharp teeth as she studied Percy warily, set to pounce._

_Before she could, Percy leapt at the spider woman, slicing wildly with his sword._

_Arachne screamed in surprise and anger as it opened a cut on her chest, losing her balance and falling to the ground: straight into Percy._

_Percy felt like he had been hit by a freight train. He and the spider went rolling, each trying to gain the upper hand as they tumbled across the rocky ground._

_Annabeth screamed, but Percy couldn't figure out where she was as they continued to roll away._

_He tried to swing his sword, but there wasn't enough room. He could barely keep ahold of it anyway as he was jostled back and forth, cuts and bruises erupting all over his skin. Finally, Arachne pulled free, scuttling back in the direction they had just come._

_"Daughter of Athena!" she screamed. "I will destroy you!"_

_Percy ran forward and plunged his sword into the spider's hairy back. "You'll have to go through me first," he grunted, pulling the sword free._

_Arachne screamed in pain, her steps faltering as golden ichor oozed from the wound. She turned on Percy, all four of her black eyes glowing with hatred. With a screech, she launched herself at him, all eight dagger-like legs plunging toward him for the kill._

* * *

 

"Percy!"

Percy started to his senses, lashing out instinctively. His hand came in contact with something soft, and he heard a startled _oof!_

He sat up, slightly disoriented to find he was sitting on the deck of the _Argo II_ , a gasping Leo beside him.

"Wha—?" he asked.

Leo was gripping his stomach, a pained look on his face. "Man," he wheezed. "You—hit hard."

"Sorry," Percy apologized.

Leo held up a hand, signaling for him to wait as he pulled air back into his lungs.

Percy took the opportunity to try and calm his racing heart. What had just happened? All Leo had said was…

 _Nope_ , he thought. _Don't think about the 'T' word. Don't think it. Nope._

He realized his thoughts were starting to become as random as Ella's words, and he mentally closed his trap. Yep, he was going crazy.

"What was that all about?" Leo finally said. "All I did was say…you know…and you just seemed to space out."

Percy shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."

"I didn't know what to do," Leo rambled nervously. "You just collapsed onto the deck. I almost called the others, but Nico said not to worry about it."

Only then did Percy realize that his cousin was standing off to the side, watching the proceedings with a grim expression.

"Nico?" he said. "What are you doing up here?"

Nico looked down at him, his black eyes slightly fractured. He slowly raised one eyebrow, his message clear: _Guess_.

"Uh, Leo?" Percy said. "Could I talk to Nico for a sec?"

Leo nodded. "Sure."

Percy waited.

"Oh right," Leo said, looking slightly hurt, but resigned, like he was used to being the odd one out. "Alone." He trudged back toward the controls, shoulders slumped.

Percy waited until he was out of earshot before turning back to his cousin.

"What was that?" he demanded.

Nico gestured for him to follow, and shuffled toward the opposite side of the deck.

Percy got up with a groan, and headed after him. When he reached him, Nico was at the railing, looking out at the stars just like Percy had been a few minutes before.

"Flashback," Nico announced.

Percy glanced up at him, confused. "What?"

"Flashback," Nico said again. "What happened back there."

Percy considered this. "Like Hazel's blackouts?"

Nico shook his head slightly. "Not quite. Hazel's mind was trying to live in two time periods at once. When she had a blackout, she was reliving her past, every move, every action as if she were really there. Flashbacks are less intense. More like a sudden storm of bad memories that leave you dizzy and disoriented. I'm not quite sure what causes them, but I think it's got something to do with PTSD and trauma." He gave a small, bitter smile. "That pit definitely fits the bill for extremely traumatic experiences."

Percy took a few minutes to digest this information. "So trauma is causing this?"

Nico nodded. "But I think…" he hesitated, finally turning to look at Percy. "I think you've got PTSD too. After Annabeth closed the Doors."

Nico. Annabeth. The pit. Oh gods.

* * *

 

_"Percy, let me go," she croaked. "You can't pull me up."_

_His muscles trembled with effort. He knew it was hopeless._

_"Never," he said. He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above. "The other side, Nico! We'll see you there. Understand?"_

_Nico's eyes widened. "But—"_

_"Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!"_

_"I—I will."_

_Below them, the voice laughed in the darkness._ Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess.

_Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. He looked down at her. Her face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, her hair tangled with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her he thought she had never looked more beautiful._

_"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."_

_Her eyes flickered with understanding, and he knew that she finally knew what would happen._ A one-way trip. A very hard fall.

_"As long as we're together," she said._

_He heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. He watched Annabeth look past him at the sunlight far, far above—maybe the last sunlight they would ever see._

_Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into endless darkness._

* * *

 

Percy sat bolt upright in a cold sweat, his heart racing once more.

Nico was crouched beside him, looking on with an unreadable expression on his face.

"So," Percy croaked, trying to get a grip on reality. "Flashback, huh?"

Nico nodded. "Hate to make this worse, but just wait until your body recovers."

Percy looked at him curiously. "What's that got to do with anything?"

Nico sighed. "Once your wounds heal, you won't sleep so deeply. When that happens, nightmares poke their ugly little heads into your dreams every single night."

Percy regarded his young cousin, slightly sad as he remembered what he used to be: a carefree, happy, hyper ten-year-old you asked too many questions. Now, at the tender age of fourteen, he had seen and experienced things that would drive adults insane.

"This package wouldn't happen to come with claustrophobia and intense fear of the dark, would it?" Percy asked.

Nico inclined his head. "Yeah. The deliveryman went all out."

Percy leaned back onto the deck and sighed. "We should find that guy and punch him in the face. With a sword."

"Sounds good to me."

Nico picked something up off the deck and tossed it to Percy.

Percy caught it, and realized that it was a thick blue blanket.

"Figured you'd be coming up tonight," Nico said quietly. "First time I came up here I forgot my clothes too." He studied Percy critically, and Percy knew he was looking at his scars. "But at least no one saw me," he continued.

Percy nodded in thanks, wrapping the blanket tightly around his shoulders, grateful for its warmth.

"So, you come up here every night?" he asked.

Nico's expression hardened. "Yep."

Percy nodded, taking the hint that his cousin didn't feel like talking.

They sat in silence for awhile, each wrapped up in their own thoughts.

Percy didn't know how long they sat there, but the next thing he knew the sky to the east was beginning to turn red as the sun began to rise.

He stretched with a groan, wincing as his wounds flared up again. "I should probably get back to the infirmary," he sighed. "The others will freak if I'm not there."

"Okay," Nico said, a faraway look in his eyes.

Percy managed to pull himself to his feet, wrapping the blanket tightly around his shoulders to hide as many scars as he could. He ignored the pain in his calves as he headed back to the stairs.

"Wait," Nico said.

Percy stopped, glancing back at his cousin questioningly.

For some reason, Nico looked slightly nervous, shifting from foot to foot and not meeting Percy's gaze. "I have to tell you something," he said finally.

Percy limped back over. "Yeah?"

Nico hesitated for a moment, like he wasn't sure if what he was about to say was a good idea. Finally, he said something that just didn't make sense: "She's not dead."

Percy stared at him, the words slowly sinking in. A tiny flicker of hope flared to life in his chest. "What do you mean?"

Nico took a deep breath. "Annabeth. I don't think she's dead."

Percy didn't even realize he had been gripping Nico's arms until the boy winced. Percy tried to loosen his hold, but found himself unable to. "What do you mean 'you don't think'?" he cried. "Is she dead or not?"

"I know when people die," Nico explained. "Especially people close to me. And Annabeth's not dead."

Percy opened his mouth to say something, but Nico beat him to it: "And she's not in Tartarus either."

Percy stared at him, stunned. "What—what do you mean she's not in Tartarus?" he breathed, the flicker of hope bursting into flame.

Nico winced again as Percy gripped him harder. "Ow. I don't sense her presence there anymore. And I know she's not dead."

Percy barely noticed the small whine that erupted from his throat. "Where is she?"

"I don't know," Nico gasped. "Please let go."

Percy released his cousin, hardly noticing as Nico rubbed his arms and glared at him.

Percy's hands flew to his head, gripping his hair in frustration. "Where is she?" he repeated. Then an idea sprang into his head. "Oh gods."

He grabbed Nico's arm and dragged him across the deck, ignoring the puzzled look on Leo's face as he passed. He practically ran down the stairs and down the hall, knocking loudly on the door to Piper's room.

He tapped his foot impatiently, and just as he was about to knock again, Piper's tired face peeked out around the door frame, looking irritated. When she saw who was there, she started in surprise, all annoyance leaving her face, replaced by a faint red color as she realized he was practically naked.

"Oh, Percy," she said, slightly flustered. "You shouldn't be up yet. Your leg—"

"To Hades with my leg," he cried. "Do you have your knife?"

Piper looked completely confused. "It's inside. Why—?"

Percy pushed past her before she could complete the sentence. He knew it was probably rude to burst into a girls room like this, but he couldn't stop himself as he glanced around, searching for Piper's knife.

Piper gave Nico a puzzled look.

"I think Annabeth's alive," Nico explained quietly.

Piper's eyes widened in shock which quickly turned to hope. She strode over to her nightstand, pulled open the drawer, and pulled out a triangular shaped dagger.

"Shouldn't we get the others?" she asked.

Nico shook his head immediately. "No. If I'm wrong, I would prefer that we don't crush too many people." He glanced slightly guiltily at Percy.

Piper nodded in understanding. She raised her knife and held it out for the others to see.

An image rippled onto the surface and Percy leaned forward so fast he almost poked his eye out.

A huge mountain came into focus.

"That's Mount Olympus," Piper realized.

"Not Annabeth," Percy grumbled.

Then the image zoomed in on the base, and Percy felt his heart sink.

Completely surrounding the mountain for at least a mile in every direction was a huge encampment of monsters. Hellhounds, telkhines, empousai, dragons, Cyclopes, and many others that Percy couldn't even name all ambled aimlessly in and out of giant circus tents, presumably set up as places to sleep. The image wormed through the crowd of monsters, and it was all Percy could do not to duck and dodge instinctively as the image bounced under legs, around bodies, and over tent stakes before it began to climb up the mountain. Finally, it stopped just below the peak to reveal a giant toiling up the side.

The giant had huge, green reptilian legs that seemed to shake the ground with each step. His oily hair was braided with broken swords and other corroded weaponry and his eyes were blank white.

Piper sucked in a breath. "Porphyrion," she snarled, glaring down at the giant's image.

As they watched, the giant reached the top, and all of them gasped in awe and surprise.

At the top of the mountain was the ruins of what had once been a mighty marble city. It stretched out farther than they could see, covering the entire mountain top with paths leading off every which way around what had once been grand buildings and temples. But now, Greek pillars were falling over, intricately carve fountains inlaid with gold and precious stones were bone dry, floor mosaics faded and covered with dirt.

"It's the old Mount Olympus," Nico said. "Before the gods moved."

Percy hardly paid any attention though, because the giant had just reached the center of the crumbling city. And there, in the light of the steadily rising sun and the flickering flames of a single brazier was a very familiar blonde.

Percy snatched the dagger out of Piper's hand, frantically examining the girl and almost sobbing with relief. It was Annabeth.

Her eyes were closed, but her chest moved up and down, proving she was still alive.

But as he studied the image, he became more and more puzzled by what he saw.

Annabeth was lying on a stone altar that was big enough for two people, her ankles and wrists bound to the rock with Celestial bronze chains. She was dressed in a bright white Ancient Greek chiton, a gold cord tied loosely around her waist. Her hair had been brushed until it shone like Imperial gold, braided back with gold strands in an Ancient Greek style. Her skin seemed to glow, not a speck of dirt or blood anywhere; no sign she'd been through Tartarus. Delicate gold bands circled her biceps, and her nails had been cleaned and filed into crescents.

"What the Hades?" he murmured.

Piper looked over his shoulder, trying to see. "What is it?"

Percy realized that he had pulled the dagger within inches of his face as he took in the image of his girlfriend. Sheepishly, he brought the dagger down, allowing his friends to see.

Piper an Nico studied the image.

"What the Hades indeed," Nico muttered.

Just then, Porphyrion stepped up to the altar, examining Annabeth like she was some sort of animal he was thinking of purchasing.

A growl echoed in the back of Percy's throat, and Piper and Nico glanced at each other worriedly.

The giant looked past Annabeth to the empty half of the altar, frowning at it as if it had done him a personal wrong. He walked around the altar so he was standing in front of the empty spot, his eyebrows furrowed. A cruel smile erupted onto his features and he turned and pulled a burning stick from the brazier. He blew carefully on the flame at the end of the stick, snuff out completely and cooling it until it was only a black stub. Then he did something strange: he knelt down next to the altar and began to draw something on the empty half with the stick, his upper body hiding what he was doing. Finally, he stood, nodding in satisfaction.

Piper gasped in horror and Nico's eyes widened.

Written on the stone was the name Percy Jackson.

The giant looked up, seemingly meeting their gazes. He grinned wickedly, pointed at the words, then pointed up at Percy.

The image faded.

The three friends stared at the now blank knife, trying to get over their shock.  
"That was—" Nico started, but seemed to be unsure how to finish.

"Nice to know I'm on another giant's 'To Kill' list," Percy said. He gave Piper her dagger. "Then again, Annabeth's alive. Where are we headed right now?"

"We're already on our way to Olympus," Nico said. "We decided that was the next stop because of the whole 'pulling the gods up by the roots' thing."

Percy nodded in satisfaction. "At least we don't have to change course."

"Percy," Piper said, her voice trembling, " you do realize what that altar was, right? It's a sacrificial table. The ancient Grecians used things like that to make sacrifices to the gods."

Percy glanced at her. "I know. They intend to spill our blood on the ancient stones and raise Gaea. But right now, that's the only reason Annabeth's even alive. They pulled her out of Tartarus for a purpose, and even though it's evil, they saved her life. I'm not saying I'm grateful and I'm forever in their debt and all that junk. I'm not going to let them catch me. I'm just saying that now that I know she's alive, I'm going to make sure she stays that way."

There was an awkward pause.

"We should tell the others," Nico decided. He turned on his heel and strode out of the room, stopping just inside the door. "Oh, and Percy?" He turned around, his eyes twinkling with an emotion so foreign to the boy that Percy took a step back in surprise: Nico di Angelo looked amused. "Get some clothes on." Then he turned around and left the room, slamming the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posted from Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Original publish date: 11-10-13
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything that sounds familiar in italics (if it's more than one paragraph long) and the characters belong to Rick Riordan.

 "It's a trap," Jason said.

After they had told the others about the scene on the knife, Jason had immediately called a meeting to discuss it. It was the first time they had all sat together (minus Annabeth) for weeks. And it wasn't really going well.

Percy, now fully dressed, glared at him. "So?"

"So," Jason repeated, "they're using Annabeth as bait to catch you."

Percy continued to glare. "Your point?"

Jason seemed unfazed by Percy's look. "So maybe this isn't such a good idea."

Percy slammed his fist onto the table, causing everyone to jump. "Listen, Grace," he snapped, "trap or not, I'm not just going to sit here while my girlfriend is a prisoner of the enemy."

Jason held up his hands, trying to placate the angry son of Poseidon. "I'm just saying we should be careful. Maybe wait it out for a week or so, make it look like we're not coming."

"Are you saying we should just leave her there?" Percy cried.

"Sort of," Jason said, his patience barely kept in check. "Well, yes. Percy, they're not going to kill her anytime soon. They need her for the sacrifice. But they also need _you_. We shouldn't give them what they want."

"Well have you thought about it this way?" Percy said, his voice ominously low. "They don't need Annabeth specifically. If I refuse to show, they could just kill her and nab one of the other girls. Piper, for example." He leaned across the table until his face was two inches from Jason's. "And then they'll be after _you_."

Everyone was silent, watching Percy and Jason apprehensively. If those two started fighting…things would get ugly.

Suddenly, they heard a swish and looked over to see Leo slicing Piper's dagger—how he got it was a mystery—back and forth in the air. When he noticed them staring, he stopped and looked at them, his eyes wide and innocent.

"What?" he asked. "I'm just trying to slice the tension in the air with a knife."

"Well it's not working," Frank observed.

Hazel snorted, and Percy noticed a slight twitch as Nico nudged her under the table.

Piper giggled, then covered her hand with her mouth as she strove to keep down her laughter.

Percy's gaze never wavered from Jason's face. "Well?" he whispered.

The two leaders stared at each other, neither willing to back down on his opinion.

"Listen," Nico said after a few minutes. "How about we all just calm down and—"

"Calm down?" Percy demanded, finally breaking the stare down to glare at his other cousin. " _Calm down_? Annabeth has been captured by Gaea's freaking army, and you want me to _calm down_?"

"Percy," Piper warned.

"Well guess what?" Percy said. "I'm _not_ calm. Far from it. And there's no way I'm going to be until Annabeth is safe." He took a shaky breath, carefully prying his fingers out of the wood as he realized he had been clawing the tabletop. "I'm going to save Annabeth," he announced. "With or without your help."

He slid out from around the table and stalked out the door, leaving a table full of stunned demigods behind him.

* * *

 

Percy stuffed a bag full of ambrosia into his rapidly filling backpack, examining the store cabinet for anything else that might be of use.

He had already liberated a box of matches, a coil of rope, and enough medical supplies to treat the entire Ares cabin, broken bones and all. Annabeth's dagger was in a sheath around his waist, though he had no intention of using it himself. Riptide, as always, was in his pocket.

He swung the bulging backpack over his shoulder and jogged out of the infirmary, making his way to the upper deck.

An hour before, he had felt like he couldn't raise a sword to save his life—unfortunately, he'd had to do that on more occasions than he could count. But now, he was filled with energy from an unknown source at the knowledge that his girlfriend was still alive. And he wasn't just going to sit in the medical bay while she was still out there in the hands of the enemy.

He reached the deck and took a deep breath as cool air washed over him, instantly soothing his senses. He strode over to the rail, lifting his fingers to his lips and whistling loudly.

Instantly, a black shape swooped down from the clouds, landing with a clatter on the deck a few feet behind Percy.

 _Yo, boss!_ Blackjack said cheerfully. _Someone call a handsome horse?_

Percy had to crack a smile at his old friend. "Yeah, Blackjack. I need a lift to Mount Olympus. It shouldn't be far, Leo said we were a hundred miles out about half an hour ago."

Blackjack cocked his head. _Aren't you going to go with the others? If you're planning on storming Mount Olympus, you're going to need all the help you can get._

Percy shook his head. "Actually, I was planning on sneaking in." He told Blackjack his plan.

Blackjack shifted uneasily. _Are you sure that'll work, boss? Seems awfully risky._

"No," Percy admitted.

_Okay. Let's go!_

Percy trotted over to the pegasus and prepared to mount.

"Percy!"

Percy hesitated, glancing over his shoulder to see Piper rushing toward him, looking slightly frazzled. He knew that she had come to stop him. He could just leave right now and spare her the agony of trying to convince him to stay. But some instinct held him back, the sixth sense that had saved his rear on more than one occasion. Reluctantly, he turned to face the desperate daughter of Aphrodite.

"Yeah?" he said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

Piper skidded to a halt next to him, panting to regain her breath. "Don't go," she gasped. "Jason—wants to talk."

"As far as I'm concerned, he's said his piece," Percy said cooly. "He's made his decision. I've made mine."

"Just hear me out!" she pleaded.

Percy sighed, then took a step away from Blackjack. "Go get some grass or something, man," he told the pegasus. "This could take awhile. Don't go too far though."

Blackjack whinnied in response, then leapt off the ship and glided into the clouds.

Percy watched his friend until he was out of sight, then turned back to Piper. "You were saying?"

Piper looked desperate. "Don't go. Please, Percy, you're not thinking about what you're doing. You saw that army of monsters. How could you ever plan on fighting them all of by yourself?"

"I don't," Percy said simply. "I wasn't going to do it that way."

Piper's expression became confused. "What do you mean?"

Percy studied his toes, unwilling to meet Piper's gaze.

"Oh my gods," Piper cried. "Don't tell me you were going to trade her out for yourself."

"Not exactly," Percy muttered. "I was going to sneak in, grab Annabeth, send her off on Blackjack while I caused a distraction and—"

"Percy! That's the same thing!"

Percy's will completely dissolved. Without another word, he ran past Piper and down to the hall, heading toward the stables.

* * *

 

Percy crouched in the back stall of the stable, his head hanging over his knees. Who was he kidding? One part of him had wanted to go and just fly off into the middle of Gaea's army, freeing Annabeth and leaving himself as captive instead. The rational part of him (which he had chosen to ignore) told him that Gaea would find a way to keep them both and that would be that. Shame and guilt welled up inside him at the realization that he'd almost helped the enemy.

His breath hissed between his teeth, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as his fingers gripped his hair, struggling to maintain a grip on reality. Maybe coming to the stables hadn't been such a good idea.

The Athena Parthenos filled the main portion of the stable, blocking all passage into the stalls. Percy had only managed it by jumping the walls of the first two stalls until he had reached his temporary safe haven.

He couldn't help but remember what lay directly under the statue's base: a pair of large glass bay doors.

* * *

 

_They worked their way past the supply rooms and the armory. Toward the stern of the ship, they reached a set of wooden double doors that opened into a large stable. The room smelled of fresh hay and wool blankets. Lining the left wall were three empty horse stalls like the ones they used for pegasi back at camp. The right wall had two empty cages big enough for large zoo animals._

_In the center of the floor was a twenty-foot-square see-through panel. Far below, the night landscape whisked by—miles of dark countryside crisscrossed with illuminated highways like the strands of a web._

_"A glass-bottomed boat?" Percy asked._

_Annabeth grabbed a blanket from the nearest stable gate and spread it across part of the glass floor. "Sit with me."_

_They relaxed on the blanket as if they were having a picnic, and watched the world go by below._

_"Leo built the stables so pegasi could come and go easily," Annabeth said. "Only he didn't realize that pegasi prefer to roam free, so the stables are always empty."_

_Percy wondered where Blackjack was—roaming the skies somewhere, hopefully following their progress. Percy's head still throbbed from getting whopped by Blackjack's hoof, but he didn't hold that against the horse._

_"What do you mean,_ come and go easily _?" he asked. "Wouldn't a pegasus have to make it down two flights of stairs?"_

_Annabeth rapped her knuckles on the glass. "These are bay doors, like on a bomber."_

_Percy gulped. "You mean we're sitting on doors? What if they opened?"_

_"I suppose we'd fall to our deaths. But they won't open. Most likely."_

_"Great."_

_Annabeth laughed. "You know why I like it here? It's not just the view. What does this place remind you of?"_

_Percy looked around: the cages and stables, the Celestial bronze lamp hanging from the beam, the smell of hay, and of course Annabeth sitting close to him, her face ghostly and beautiful in the soft amber light._

_"That zoo truck," Percy decided. "The one we took to Las Vegas."_

_Her smile told him he'd gotten the answer right._

_"That was so long ago," Percy said. "We were in bad shape, struggling to get across the country to find that stupid lightning bolt, trapped in a truck with a bunch of mistreated animals. How can you be nostalgic for that?"_

_"Because, Seaweed Brain, it's the first time we really talked, you and me. I told you about my family, and…" She took out her camp necklace, strung with her dad's college ring and a colorful clay bead for each year at Camp Half-Blood. Now there was something else on the leather cord: a red coral pendant Percy had given her when they had started dating. He'd brought it from his father's palace at the bottom of the sea._

_"And," Annabeth continued, "it reminds me how long we've known each other. We were twelve, Percy. Can you believe that?"_

_"No," he admitted. "So…you knew you liked me from that moment?"_

_She smirked. "I hated you at first. You annoyed me. Then I tolerated you for a few years. Then—"_

_"Okay, fine."_

_She leaned over and kissed him: a good, proper kiss without anyone watching—no Romans anywhere, no screaming satyr chaperones._

_She pulled away. "I missed you, Percy."_

* * *

 

Percy pulled out of the flashback with a gasp. He groaned, falling back onto a pile of hay, his heart pounding. He closed his eyes once more, a tear winding down his cheek.

 _I miss you too, Wise Girl_ , he thought miserably.

He became dimly aware that he was holding something in his hands. He cracked an eye open and realized he had a stable blanket in his hands. A very familiar blanket. He sat up, bringing the fabric up to his face and sniffing it. To his disappointment, it smelled like fresh hay; no hint of the lemony soap Annabeth liked to use in her hair. He wrapped it around his shivering body, trying to imagine Annabeth beside him, sharing the comfort of the warm blanket.

 _Stop it_ , he chided. _You'll have another flashback._

He fell back into the hay, snugly cocooned in the blanket. He sighed, staring up at the huge marble statue that was the Athena Parthenos. The cold face of Annabeth's mother stared down at him, challenging him: _You think you're good enough for my daughter? Prove it, son of Poseidon._

He heard the door on the other side of the statue open, and he tensed. No one knew he was in here. How could they?

But that didn't seem to be the case as footsteps echoed throughout the wooden space, edging around the statue and heading toward the stalls.

"Percy?"

Percy's heart sank as he recognized Jason's voice. The last thing he wanted was to hear the son of Jupiter's point of view on the current situation. He huddled closer into the hay, yanking the blanket over his head and silently willing him to just go away.

No such luck.

"Percy, is that you?" Jason said, directly above him.

Percy cursed silently. "No," he grumbled.

"Uh huh."

Percy slowly lowered the blanket, only letting his forehead and eyes show over the fabric.

Jason was hovering three feet over his head, his electric blue eyes seemingly boring right through the woven fabric. He slowly lowered himself, landing with a slight _thump_ on the floor next to Percy.

"Cheater," Percy said halfheartedly. "I had to climb over the walls."

Jason plopped down beside him. "Hey, being the son of Jupiter has its perks."

They sat in silence, Percy stubbornly ignoring the figure next to him. Finally, his lack of patience and ADHD won over.

"How did you find me?" he said in a flat monotone.

Jason shrugged. "Piper said she saw you head off to the back of the boat. From there, it was pretty easy to narrow it down." He glanced sidelong at Percy. "Piper told me your little plan," he said, tone slightly accusing.

Percy rubbed his face with his hands. "Yeah. Wasn't really thinking."

Jason sighed. He turned and faced his cousin, expression deadly serious. "Percy, what's going on?"

Percy continued staring at the door in front of him. "What do you mean?"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

"And you perfectly well know my answer."

Jason groaned in exasperation. "No, I don't, Percy. I know Annabeth has been captured. But there's something more." He leaned forward and turned Percy over to face him. "Does it have something to do with Tartarus?"

All Percy could think was, _Thanks, genius_ , before his vision went black.

* * *

 

_"Hurry!" Annabeth yelped._

_Percy ran toward her, an entire pack of hellhounds right on his tail. He leapt over a boulder, just managing not to collapse from exhaustion as fear pumped through his system. He swung his arm under Annabeth's, dragging her along without hardly stopping._

_"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" he cried._

_The lead hellhound snapped uncomfortably close to their heels, and Percy slashed Riptide out blindly behind him. He was greeted with a whine of pain, but he didn't stop to celebrate._

_Howls echoed through the darkness, seemingly surrounding them, lending extra incentive as Percy plowed ahead, struggling to bear the weight of two people. No matter how hard he tried, he could tell they were slowing down._

_"Can't," he gasped. "Annabeth."_

_"I know," she said, her teeth gritted._

_Percy knew that she hated being so useless, but she couldn't really do much of anything with a broken ankle._

_"Find—a cave," he wheezed. "Shelter."_

_Before he heard Annabeth's reply, he stumbled over an obstacle hidden by the darkness, skidding across the gravelly floor as he tried to maintain his balance. But it wasn't enough as both were sent tumbling to the ground, rolling several feet before their progress was halted by a boulder the size of Zeus's Fist back at Camp Half-Blood._

_"Climb!" Annabeth yelled._

_Percy understood immediately. He snatched Annabeth's hand and yanked her to her feet, boosting her halfway up the rock._

_Excited barking echoed behind them, indicating that the hellhounds had caught sight of their prey._

_Annabeth scrambled to the top and held out her hand for Percy to grab._

_Percy jumped, hands scrabbling desperately for purchase on the black rock._

_"Hurry!" Annabeth pleaded._

_Percy could hear the hellhounds coming up to the base of the boulder. He tried not to think about it as he began to climb, striving to get out of range. He clambered upwards as fast as he could, reaching out to take Annabeth's hand._

_Then everything went downhill. Literally._

_A heavy paw came crashing down on his back, razor sharp claws raking through his filthy shirt and deep into his flesh. He screamed in pure agony and let go of the rock, tumbling down into the hellhounds with Annabeth's terrified cries echoing above him._

* * *

 

"Percy!"

Percy's eyes snapped open, instinctively moving to sit up, only to realize someone was holding him down. As his vision cleared, he realized Jason was directly above him, his hands gripping his shoulders tightly in his effort to wake him.

Percy stared up at him blankly. "What?"

Jason's eyebrows were furrowed, his eyes full of worry. "What do you mean 'what'?" he demanded. "What was that?"

"Please let go," Percy said. "You're cutting off the circulation in my arms."

Jason seemed to realize he was still holding Percy and quickly let go.

Percy sat up, pulling his arms loose from the blanket and rolling his sore shoulders.

"I think you opened my shoulder wound again," he said.

"Sorry," Jason said, though he didn't sound too apologetic. "What was that? You just blacked out."

"You probably left bruises too."

"Stop changing the subject!"

Percy sighed, slowly untangling himself from the constricting blanket. "Flashback," he said shortly.

Jason's eyebrows furrowed even more. "What?"

Percy glanced at him. "Nico's been onboard for a couple weeks. Don't tell me you don't know what's going on."

Jason looked utterly confused. "What's Nico have to do with it?"

Percy stared at him. "You're kidding, right?"

Jason's expression told him he wasn't.

"Oh gods, Grace," he cried. "You're telling me you haven't noticed anything wrong with Nico since he boarded the _Argo II_? Nothing at all?"

"Well, he's been awfully quiet," Jason admitted. "And he always goes up on deck every night according to Leo."

"Well if you had actually been _paying attention_ ," Percy hissed, "you might have noticed a little bit more about our young cousin than his poor sleeping habits."

"What do you mean?" Jason asked, growing defensive.

"Has it ever occurred to you _why_ he always goes up on deck?" Percy snapped. "Perhaps constant nightmares has crossed your mind? Have you even noticed how he seems to black out from time to time?"

Jason seemed to stiffen. "Well I'm sorry I haven't exactly been keeping track of Nico's problems. You can't expect me to make sure every single person on this ship is—"

"If Piper was the one with PTSD," Percy interrupted. "You would be all over it."

Jason's eyes flashed with anger. "Stop bringing Piper into these conversations."

"Then you stop prodding into my problems."

The two boys glared at each other.

Jason seemed to deflate. "Come on, man," he said. "I'm just trying to help."

Percy crumbled, his head falling to rest in his knees, his hands over his face. "I know," he whispered. "I just don't know how to accept it." Before he could stop himself, the words just came tumbling out. "I miss Annabeth so bad. To the point of almost surrendering myself to the enemy. Annabeth told me a long time ago…" Darkness clouded the edges of his vision, and Percy doubled over. "Styx."

* * *

 

 _"What Luke told you back on the_ Princess Andromeda _, about starting the world from scratch…that really got to you, huh?"_

_She pulled her blanket around her. "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."_

_He blinked. "That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "No, Seaweed Brain. That's_ hummus. _Hubris is worse."_

_"What could be worse than hummus?"_

_"Hubris means deadly pride, Percy. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else…even the gods."_

_"You feel that way?"_

_She looked down. "Don't you ever feel like, what if the world really is messed up? What if we could do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."_

_"I'm listening."_

_"I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did—that's why the fire is still burning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And you start thinking the way Luke does: 'If I could tear this all down, I would do it better.' Don't you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?"_

_"Um…no. Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."_

_"Then you're lucky. Hubris isn't your fatal flaw."_

_"What is?"_

_"I don't know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it…well, they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing."_

* * *

 

Percy came back to reality to find Jason shaking him again.

"Dude, you're going to knock all my teeth out," Percy groaned.

Jason backed up, looking panicked. "Sorry. Did you just…have a flashback?"

Percy studied him skeptically. "What do _you_ think?"

Jason hesitated. "What were you saying before…you know?"

Percy sat back on his heels, pulling the blanket around him. He wondered if this was what Annabeth had felt like on the _Queen Anne's Revenge_ when Percy had been crouched next to her blanket wrapped figure as she explained fatal flaws. He wouldn't doubt it if she didn't feel as stupid and ridiculous as he did at this moment.

"Annabeth told me…" he swallowed, pushing the darkness away. "She told me about fatal flaws. And how every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it, well, it's called 'fatal' for a reason." He took a deep breath, half expecting a flashback. "Later, her mom, Athena, oh so politely pointed out mine: personal loyalty. I can't give up on a friend or family member, not for the world." His eyes roamed the stable, unwilling to meet Jason's gaze. "So…yeah."

He waited for Jason to yell at him, to say that he couldn't believe Percy would even think about doing something as stupid as practically turning himself over to the enemy and basically dooming the world.

Instead, Jason scooted closer and gripped his shoulder, though this time in a much friendlier gesture. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't know."

Percy looked at him, surprised. "Huh?"

"I didn't know," Jason repeated. "You know, your fatal flaw. I—I wish I had known sooner so I could…I don't know. Be more…understanding?"

Percy didn't know why, but he cracked a smile. "Sorry, Jason, but comforting isn't really your thing."

Jason shook his head ruefully. "Noticed."

"Now if I was Piper—"

"Oh, shut up, Jackson."

Percy grinned even wider, leaning back into the pile of hay. "Hey, that's what older cousins are for, right? Picking on the younger ones."

"I think that rule only applies to siblings."

"Whatever floats your boat, Grace."

They sat in companionable silence, staring up at the granite form of Annabeth's mother.

Suddenly, Jason said, "What's mine?"

Percy glanced up. "What's your what?"

"Fatal flaw. You said that Annabeth said, 'Every hero has one.' What's mine?"

Percy shrugged. "Unfortunately, that's something you have to figure out for yourself. And it's usually not as easy as having a god tell you. Annabeth learned hers by—" He gripped his forehead, forcing the darkness away as it threatened to consume him.

"Hey," Jason yelped, "you're not going to blackout on me again, are you?"

Percy took several deep breaths, struggling to maintain control. Finally, the darkness receded, at least for now. Percy let out a shaky breath. "No."

Jason watched him with concern.

"Oh, stop looking at me that way!" Percy snapped. "I'm sick and tired of all those worried and concerned glances you guys are always sending me when you think I'm not looking. Heck, even when I _am_ looking. I'm not stupid, you know."

Jason's face went through an interesting series of contortions as he tried to look neutral. "Sorry."

Percy huffed in exasperation, pulling the blanket over his head to try and block out Jason's piercing eyes.

"Hey," Jason said slowly, and something about his tone urged Percy to peek out from under his blanket.

A slow grin was slowly spreading over his cousin's features, almost as wide as a Cheshire cat's. "I've got an idea."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posted from Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Original publish date: 11-18-13

Percy gripped Blackjack's mane tightly as they flew through the clouds, glad he had brought a jacket along. Even with the extra protection, water vapor still clung to the exposed skin on his face and hands, chilling his fingers and numbing his cheeks. Slightly annoyed, he wiped at his running nose.

"How far do you think we are, Blackjack?" he whispered.

 _No idea_ , Blackjack replied. _Too many clouds around here to tell._

Percy tried to keep sarcasm out of his thoughts, not wanting Blackjack to sense his irritation. Sometimes only having a pegasus for company could be trying for one's patience.

He shifted uncomfortably on the pegasus's back, rolling his shoulders under the straps of his backpack. Even for a son of Poseidon, riding bareback for two hours could cause horrible cramps and saddle sores. So, maybe this plan hadn't been such a good idea. He could've waited until they were closer to Mount Olympus, but he had chosen to go on ahead anyway.

He shivered, pulling his jacket tighter around him. He briefly considered taking the blanket he had liberated from the stables out, but decided against it. If anything were to happen, either a monster attack or Blackjack falling from the sky, he wanted his arms free when they were flying into enemy territory.

He carefully peeked over Blackjack's massive wings, hoping to see something, _anything_ besides clouds. No such luck.

The clouds were so much like mist. Swirling tendrils, completely surrounding him, no way to escape.

A memory slowly began to surface, blackness threatening his vision.

"Not now," he moaned. But it was too late.

* * *

 

_Percy stumbled forward blindly, supporting Annabeth with one arm as he struggled in vain to outrun the white mist oozing up behind them._

_"No, no, no," he moaned. His breath wheezed through his mouth, his lungs begging for air as his entire body screamed in pain. He risked a glance behind him._

_The mist swirled forward, lapping at their ankles like an ocean tide; but the mist had a much more malicious meaning then simply Charibdis deciding to exhale._

_He yelled in pure terror as the silky tendrils completely engulfed them._

_He kept a tight hold of Annabeth. There was no way they were going to be separated again. Even though their bodies were practically pressed against each other's, Percy couldn't see her._

_"Annabeth," he murmured. The fog swallowed his voice, so he couldn't even hear himself. He fought down a surge of panic._

Just keep moving _, he thought._

_Tentatively, he took a step forward, pulling Annabeth along beside him. Maybe they could get out before the horrible images began._

_Just then, a flicker of color came to life at his right._

_He'd thought too soon._

_He turned his head away, gritting his teeth and focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, refusing to look._

_"Percy!" a voice screamed, fear lacing the person's words. Piper._

_He took a deep, shuddering breath, and plowed forward, trying to ignore the pleas._

_"Percy, please," Piper sobbed. "Help!"_

_Unable to stop himself, Percy glanced off to his right._

_Piper lay on the stony ground, a giant's foot pressed against her chest, ready to crush her. Their eyes met, and her kaleidoscope eyes were filled with such pain and fear it was all Percy could do to rip his gaze away._

_He continued forward as the misty form of Piper continued to scream. Then, a horrible_ CRUNCH _filled the air, followed by one last horrible scream. Then silence._

_Percy forced himself not look back at the mangled form of the misty Piper._

_He took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down._

_A new image sprang up, this time directly in front of them._

_Leo fought, three pound rubber hammer against axe, with another giant. And it was clear he was fighting a losing battle._

_Percy was forced to watch as Leo shot a stream of fire at the giant, blasting him directly in the face. The giant just smiled, as immune to the fire as Leo was. He swung his axe down, and Leo dodged. But not quite fast enough. The passing blade caught on his shirt, pulling him up and over before the fabric ripped in half, dropping Leo painfully onto the ground. The giant raised his axe, prepared to cut Leo in half._

_Leo glanced up, saw Percy, and his eyes lit up. "Hey, man," he said, pretty casual since he was about to get split in two. "Little help?"_

_Percy numbly shook his head, feeling torn even though he knew none of this was real._

_Leo's face went from confused, to shocked, to complete and utter betrayal before the axe came down on him._

_Percy was pretty sure he cried out, but the mist once again absorbed his words, refusing to let any sound it didn't want him to hear into his ears._

_Leo and the giant faded, replaced by the hulking form of the Minotaur as he gripped his mother by the throat._

_"Go!" his mom yelled._

_"No!" Percy yelled, or at least he was pretty sure he did. He ran forward, uncaring that the image was fake, barely aware that Annabeth was practically dragging behind him as he strove to reach his mother._

_The Minotaur's arm muscles rippled and his mom dissolved in a puff of mist._

_Thalia flickered to life off to his left, desperately fending off a pack of hellhounds with nothing but her silver knives, her quiver empty._

_"Hey, Kelp Head," she gasped, her forehead beaded with sweat. "Kill a few for me?"_

_Percy couldn't take it anymore. He ran to her aid, arm still locked around Annabeth's waist. But it was too late._

_Thalia screamed in pain as a hellhound got a lucky slash._

_Just as Percy reached the edge of the fray, Thalia went down under the furry monsters. Desperately, he slashed at the beasts, but his sword just passed through them like they weren't there._

_Frank appeared to his right, writhing in agony as his piece of firewood burned in his hand. The firewood burned completely and Frank lay still._

_Jason, barely avoiding an enormous spear as a giant chased him through the mist. Jason glanced at Percy pleadingly, just as the giant got a lucky stab._

_Hazel, a crack opening under her feet and leaving her hanging by one hand._

_"Percy!" she screamed. "Help!"_

_She lost her grip and fell into darkness._

_Percy squeezed his eyes shut, a tear leaking down his cheek. His heart pounded in his chest, his breath hissing through his clenched teeth as more images appeared, all of his friends crying out in pain and fear, all begging him to save them. To be the hero he had never asked to be._

_Something bucked against him, and he realized he still had Annabeth in his grasp. He pulled her close to him as she wriggled, trying to escape his hold._

_Percy crumpled to the ground, pulling Annabeth onto his lap and holding her tightly. He felt her arms wrap around him, hugging his neck as the tortured screams of their friends echoed all around them._

* * *

 

_Boss!_

Percy jerked awake, almost falling off Blackjack's back.

"Wha—?" he asked, still disoriented.

 _You blacked out again, boss_ , Blackjack neighed nervously. _What's wrong with you?_

Percy sighed, gently rubbing his eyes to try and rid the images from his vision.

"I don't know, Blackjack," he said softly. "I simply don't know."

They continued on in silence, each not quite sure what to say.

Percy could tell that Blackjack was worried; he himself was beginning to get concerned. If one of these flashback things happened in the middle of a battle, he was dead. No second chances, no way around it. End of story. There had to be a way to get them under control…

Blackjack began gliding downwards, breaking Percy out of his thoughts.

 _We're here, boss_ , Blackjack said.

Percy glanced over the pegasus's head, instantly forgetting his fear of falling as they broke the cloud cover, revealing their goal: Mount Olympus.

Campfires glowed for miles in the darkened fields surrounding the mountain's base, proving that Piper's knife had been correct. Much smaller twinkles of light bloomed on the mountain itself—probably torches. A single, large red glow burned at the very peak of the mountain, and Percy knew it was the brazier pictured in the knife blade. And that was where Annabeth was.

All fear and apprehension drained out of him, replaced with grim determination. Annabeth was down there. And he was going to get her out alive, no matter the cost.

"Put down over there," he ordered Blackjack, pointing to a patch of darkness close to the top of the mountain. "Between those two torches. Go slow and circle around, make sure no monsters see us."

 _I'm not an amateur, boss_ , Blackjack huffed. _I know what I'm doing._ Princess Andromeda _, remember? Stealth horse extraordinaire._

Percy smiled. "You mean _after_ you banged in the hood of Paul's Prius?"

Blackjack snorted. _The need to be subtle was not necessary at that time._

Despite the situation, it was all Percy could do not to laugh at his old friend. "Whatever you say, Blackjack."

They lapsed into silence as the mountain drew closer.

Percy's eyes darted from side to side, not moving his head as he scanned for traps of any kind.

Blackjack landed silently in the patch of darkness, the only sign of their arrival being a brief guttering of the reed torches around them.

Percy slipped his hand into his pocket for his pen, glancing around one last time to make sure nothing was nearby. Then he slowly slipped off of Blackjack's back, his stiff legs creaking in protest.

"Oh come on," he grumbled. "I'm too young to be an old man."

 _Oxymoron_ , Blackjack snickered.

"Shut up," Percy sighed. He looked around uneasily. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He glanced over his shoulder, but nothing was there but darkness. The presence faded, and Percy scrunched his eyebrows together. He was probably just paranoid. In Tartarus, you could never see the threat. It always hung on the edges of your consciousness, driving you crazy.

Oops.

He fought the blackness, pushing it away with all his might. He was _not_ going to black out now. Not so far into enemy territory.

After what seemed like hours, his vision cleared. He realized he had been holding his breath, and let it out slowly. He closed his eyes, wiping the sweat from his brow.

_Hey, you okay, boss?_

Percy took another deep breath. "Fine."

He shakily pulled himself up from the crouched position he had unconsciously taken as he had fought off the flashback.

"Blackjack," he whispered, "get out of here. Stay out of sight. Be ready for my signal, because when things go haywire, I'll need out of here, fast."

Blackjack gave him a concerned once over. _Whatever you say, boss_ , he decided. He took flight, his wings making almost no sound as he gained altitude before gliding off into the night sky.

Percy pulled Riptide out of his pocket, fingering the cap. He didn't want to uncap it just yet. The telltale bronze glow of his sword would be certain to give him away.

He glanced up at the top of the mountain, the single brazier standing out in stark contrast to the blackness of the sky around it. If he didn't do this right, there would be no second chance. He'd be dead.

He crept up the side of the mountain, ghosting soundlessly from one patch of darkness to the other, staying out of the circles of light from the spluttering reed torches. He found himself constantly glancing over his shoulder, making sure nobody was following him.

Finally, he crested the peak of the mountain. He stopped in breathless shock at the sight before him. The image in Piper's knife didn't even begin to cover the massive size and beauty of the ruins of Olympus. Each pillar that was still standing was as tall as a giant and at least six feet in diameter, covered in thick green ivy from top to bottom. Statues of the gods lined what had probably been the main road, leading up to a huge open temple that was mostly intact, the single brazier shining inside. Tall, dry fountains studded with gems and other precious stones stood in multiple places, probably in what had been the courtyards of various now crumbled houses. The whole scene glowed silver in the light of the setting moon, casting eerie shadows over everything. Percy could only imagine what this place had looked like before it had fallen into ruin.

He realized that he had been standing and gawking at the place in plain sight. Quickly, he ducked behind a toppled marble column that lay parallel to the road. He remained still for about five minutes, just to make sure nothing had seen him. When nothing happened, he crept along the length of the pillar, staying out of he silvery moonlight and staying in the deep shadows that hid him from whatever might be watching. When he reached the end of it, he risked a glance over the top, plotting his route through the ruined city.

The quickest route would be to walk along the road, but he wasn't sure that was the best idea. He would be a clear target for any guards placed on the mountain. But then, if he crept among the toppled columns and houses, there was a practically endless amount of places for monsters to hide, just waiting for an unsuspecting demigod to wander by. Plus, knowing him, he's probably get lost and end up on the complete other side of the mountain.

Hesitantly, he stepped out onto the road, Riptide clenched tightly in his hand. He crept down the golden path, whirling around in a state of paranoia every time a shadow flickered in the waning moonlight, the slight breeze whistling through the empty courtyards. Ancient Greek statues of the gods glared down at him from their pedestals, seemingly chiding him for making such a stupid decision. Many of them were missing limbs and heads, and others were…well, they didn't have to worry about tripping over togas. Percy wondered if people really sculpted the gods that way. Unfortunately, they probably had.

He passed a headless statue of what had probably been Dionysus, judging from the grape vines wrapped around his body in place of clothes. Another one of Athena looked at him with blank marble eyes that seemed to follow him as he walked past, her pale ivory skin and clothing matching that of the Athena Parthenos perfectly. (He quickly looked the other way before another flashback could take him over.) A statue of his father, Poseidon, was missing the middle prong in his trident, so it looked like he was wielding a giant Viking's fork.

After a seemingly endless amount of time, he reached the short staircase that led up to the main temple. He paused at the foot of the stairs to catch his breath. He leaned against the pedestal of a nearby statue, waiting for his breathing and heart rate to slow down. Apparently he was in worse shape than he had thought if such a short trek had exhausted him so quickly.

When he had recovered somewhat, he pushed himself off the statue and gazed up at the telltale glow of the brazier. Annabeth was so close, he almost got vertigo just thinking about it.

He uncapped Riptide, figuring that the bronze glow would be lost in the light of the brazier, and, heart pounding, started up the dirt-caked stairs. His eyes darted from left to right, probing into the shadowy corners, searching for any sign of movement. Nothing. His eyebrows furrowed, and he faltered slightly in his steps.

A worm of doubt began gnawing at his stomach. This was the main temple, the place where they obviously planned to resurrect Gaea. He didn't think that even the monsters would be stupid enough to leave it so unprotected.

He glanced up at the top, a couple steps away.

Annabeth was _so_ close. He couldn't stop now.

He climbed the final steps and was immediately blasted with a wave of light and heat as he faced the brazier full on. He squinted, raising his hand to shield his eyes as he edged around the fire, trying not to look at it. He rounded the other side, blinking the spots out of vision.

And then he saw her.

Annabeth was lying on a two-person stone altar, just like in Piper's knife.

Percy resisted the animal urge to rush toward her, choosing instead to examine the temple. It was more intact than most of the buildings, at least half the pillars still standing. The fire in the brazier made the entire temple as bright as day, the flames casting flickering shadows across the floor.

Still no sign of any guards.

Too late to turn back.

He edged forward carefully, stopping three feet away from the sleeping form of his girlfriend.

"Annabeth?" he said hesitantly.

Instantly, thousands of torches lit up, completely surrounding the temple. Each torch was held by a monster, their red eyes glowing just outside the firelight. Something flashed at the edge of Percy's vision, and he turned just in time to get hit full on by a weighted net, sending him crashing to the ground.

He cried out involuntarily as hooked barbs woven into the net pierced his skin, digging deep into his flesh as he struggled to get free.

A giant stepped out from behind the brazier, standing over Percy. At least, Percy assumed he was a giant. All he could see were giant, green, reptilian legs. Being careful not to move, he looked up past the scaly legs. The giant's skin was the color of a lima bean, his greasy green hair tied back with swords and other weapons. He grinned evilly down at Percy, his blank white eyes studying him as if he were a hunk of meat. But the most terrifying thing about him was the thirty foot spear in his right hand. Percy recognized him as the giant in Piper's knife; the king of the giants: Porphyrion.

"Hello, Perseus Jackson," the giant bellowed. "So nice of you to join us."

Percy glared up at him wordlessly. He silently cursed himself for getting caught off guard like that.

 _Vlacas_ , he chided.

"You arrived at just the right time," the giant continued. "Today is August first, the glorious day in which we shall raise Gaea."

Percy just managed to keep the surprise off his face. He had forgotten about Gaea's rise and shine date. Heck, he hadn't even kept track of today's date ever since Tartarus. Maybe he should have thought this rescue through a little bit more before he'd come barreling up the mountain.

The giant cocked his head to the side. "Gaea knew you would come for this one." He pointed his fat finger at the still sleeping Annabeth. "Otherwise we would have left her to rot in Tartarus. Not that I wasn't tempted. That little brat wouldn't stop screaming profanities until I finally put her to sleep."

Percy's lips quirked up in a smile. Good for Annabeth.

"Of course it was a minor setback that you hadn't stayed with her in the pit," the giant mused. "So much for personal loyalty, eh? Letting your girlfriend remain in that place isn't very heroic."

Percy scowled, wincing slightly as a few barbs scraped his cheeks. Gods, he needed to _move_. His ADHD was beginning to drive him crazy.

"But no matter!" the giant cried, clapping his hands so loudly Percy flinched. "You came through in the end. You came to right your wrong, and we're still on schedule! As soon as the sun rises, we will spill your blood on the ancient stones and wake Mother Earth!"

Percy's fingers twitched, and it was all he could do not to launch himself at the giant, barbed net or no. This guy talked way too much.

"Famous demigod such as you are, you were quite easy to subdue," the giant gloated. "The famous Percy Jackson, walking straight into a trap. And I get the wonderful honor of killing you and your girlfriend. I will raise the Earth Mother and we will destroy both camps! Provided they haven't destroyed each other already, of course."

"You know, you've repeated yourself about three times now," Percy said.

The giant stared down at him, obviously not happy at being interrupted. "What do you mean?"

"You keep saying, 'wake Mother Earth' and 'raise the Earth Mother,' and all that blah. It's getting annoying."

The giant furrowed his bushy green eyebrows. "I do not see how that is annoying."

"Of course you don't," Percy sympathized. "Your head is too thick to understand."

The giant scowled, his grip tensing around the shaft of his spear. "I will enjoy destroying you, Percy Jackson," he growled. "I will make sure your death is long and slow."

"You do realize you're probably the sixth idiot that's said that to me," Percy said. "And so far, no one has succeeded."

"Ah!" the giant said, leaning down until he and Percy were face-to-face. "And I am the first who will. Enjoy your last moments of life, Perseus Jackson. You don't have many left."

Despite his effort to remain indifferent, Percy swallowed. Yeah, he should have thought this through a little more.

"I'm surprised you came alone," the giant said, hauling himself upright with his spear.

"Who says I'm alone?" Percy challenged.

Porphyrion raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I think you are. Our scouts have reported that your ship is miles from here. In fact, they are getting farther away every minute. They're flying in the complete opposite direction, no doubt in an attempt to stop their precious camps from killing each other." He sighed, faking sympathy. "They'll be too late, I'm afraid. The camps will have ripped each other apart. But the point is, they don't care about you, Percy. They left you."

Percy glanced over the giant's head, resisting the urge to smile. "Then what's that behind you?"

Porphyrion turned around, just in time to get hit in the face by a ballistae bolt wreathed in Greek fire.

"Gah!" the giant yelled, clawing at his face as he staggered backwards, landing with a _THUD_ just behind the brazier, narrowly missing the altar holding Annabeth.

The _Argo II_ appeared in the night sky fifty feet above the temple, green bursts exploding from the side as more bolts shot down on the monsters climbing the mountain, creating havoc in the ranks.

Percy tried to look irritated as Jason landed in front of him. "Little late, Grace."

Jason grinned at him. "Sorry." He raised his golden sword, and with two quick slashes, the net fell around Percy's ankles.

Percy shook Riptide free of the netting and stepped out of the barbs. He swung the sword in a circle, eyeing the monsters. "Ready to whoop some monster butt?"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly how I would put it. But, yes, I'm ready."

"Then let's do this."

And together, they ran at the dumbfounded monsters standing in the ruins of Mount Olympus.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posted from Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Original publish date: 6-24-14
> 
> Comments besides 'update soon' are very much appreciated :)

Stupid should have been Percy's middle name.

He charged at the giant Porphyrion, spurred on by an intense feeling of hate and anger that this...this _thing_ had taken Annabeth from him. And he was going to pay.

Percy stabbed Riptide into the arch of the downed giant's foot, earning an enraged yell. He jumped lightly out of the way as the foot moved to try and kick him, sprinting up to the giant's knee and ducking under his kneecap, slashing Riptide into the sensitive flesh.

The giant screamed in agony, rolling on his side and staggering to his feet, his expression one of pure hatred as he glared down at Percy.

"I will enjoy killing you, Jackson," he hissed.

"You said that already," Percy chided. "Stop repeating yourself."

The giant scowled, swinging his spear in a wide arc at Percy's middle.

Percy ducked, inadvertently gasping as he felt the huge staff swipe right over his head, the wind it created knocking him to his knees.

The giant staggered when he met no resistance, and Percy took the opportunity to jump inside the spear's reach and slash his sword down the giant's thigh.

Porphyrion howled, taking a step back to avoid getting cut again, as well as successfully putting Percy back in range of his spear.

Percy rolled out of the way as the giant stabbed down with the spear, missing his back by mere inches.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the _Argo II_ continuing to blast the monsters on the mountain, keeping them outside the temple so Percy didn't have to worry about an attack from behind. Speaking of attacks…

He leapt to the side as the giant stabbed again, nicking Percy's left arm. He hissed in pain, but had no time to inspect the wound as the giant followed through with a swipe that would have batted Percy right down the mountain. Percy dodged, but not quite fast enough. The spear tip caught his shirt, just enough to catch. Percy felt his feet leave the ground as the spear continued upwards. About twenty feet up, his shirt ripped on the razor sharp tip and he found himself free falling through the air. His vision began to black out.

 _No, not now!_ he begged.

But it was too late.

Percy gripped Annabeth tightly, determined and too scared to let go.

* * *

 

_Down, down, down they fell. Percy had yet to see anything but blackness, yet to hear anything except the keening wind in his ears._

_They had been falling for days, he bet. Maybe even weeks. There was no way of telling._

_He hugged Annabeth tighter, felt moisture fly up into his face that he realized were Annabeth's tears. "It'll be okay," he tried to say, but the wind swept his voice away._

_He buried his face in her hair, trying to comfort her, but he still felt the tears soaking through his shirt. He pressed his lips against her ear. "I love you."_

* * *

 

A solid force slammed into Percy, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped, his eyes fluttering open to find his descent had been intercepted five feet above the ground. He felt arms wrapped around his waist, and started to struggle, still dazed by the flashback.

"Stop moving," Jason grunted into his ear.

Percy tensed at the sudden sound, then allowed himself to relax as Jason steered toward the edges of the temple.

"Get back here!" the giant bellowed. "I'm not finished with you yet!"

Although Jason had managed to redirect Percy's fall so that it wasn't fatal, there was still too much momentum for him to stop completely. The two boys crashed to the ground just at the edge of the temple, Jason grunting in pain as his shoulder took the brunt of the fall, tumbling head over heels to a halt in a tangle of limbs.

They quickly extricated themselves, scrambling to their feet as they heard the giant's footsteps heading toward them, shaking the ground with each step.

Jason gripped his left shoulder, his face tight with pain.

"You okay?" Percy asked.

"Fine," Jason said, his teeth gritted. "Just a bruise."

Percy could tell it was more than just a bruise, but he didn't have time to check. The giant was upon them, and he looked mad.

However, when he saw Jason, his lips broke into an evil reptilian grin. "Ah, Jason Grace," he said. "We meet again. I have been counting down the days till I get my revenge."

Percy raised an eyebrow at his cousin. "You know this guy?"

"Yeah," Jason said, though his voice was strained. "Defeated him on our quest to save Juno. Er, Hera."

"But you did not defeat me," the giant corrected.

Jason cocked his head to the side, as if considering the question. "Oh, that's right. We didn't beat you. You just ran away like a puppy with his tail between his legs when Juno was freed. I remember now."

The giant glowered down at them. "Maybe so. But I am here now. And here, there are no gods to protect you. Prepare to meet your death, son of Jupiter."

Almost faster than Percy's eyes could follow, the giant stuck out his spear butt and rammed it into Jason's stomach, sending him flying, though this time not of his own accord.

Jason barely managed to control the winds in time to avoid a head on collision with a toppled marble column, but he still ended up on all fours, coughing and retching as he tried to regain air in his lungs.

The giant went in for a second strike, but Percy slid under the giant's foot, on his knees as he held Riptide straight up in the air.

The giant stepped directly on the blade, and it buried itself in the reptilian flesh all the way up to the hilt.

The king of the giants wailed like a baby, hopping back on his good foot and lifting up his bad foot to inspect it, forcing Percy to let go of Riptide. The giant plucked the blade out of his foot like a splinter, flicking it off somewhere behind him.

Percy's heart sank. He knew the weapon would eventually return to his pocket, but he doubted he'd survive long enough to use it. He cast his eyes around desperately, searching for anything that might serve as a replacement, but seeing none.

The giant, however, wasn't going to give him any more time. The sword in his foot seemed only to annoy and anger him more. He bellowed in rage, barreling toward Percy.

Percy ducked to the left as the swinging spear took out one of the few standing pillars, sending granite shrapnel flying through the air and cutting Percy in too many places to count. He dodged a second strike, then took off into the temple, never staying in a place for more than half a second, always moving.

His breath began to rasp painfully in his throat, his muscles trembling with exertion. Man, he was out of shape. As if to add to his problems, Jason was still incapacitated on the other side of the temple, Percy having lead the giant away from him to give him time to recover. However, Percy didn't have much more time to give.

The giant limped up behind him, his blank white eyes boring down at Percy as he raised his spear again.

On an impulse, Percy ran forward, the spearhead barely missing him as he ran at the giant, circling behind him.

The giant turned, trying to find him, but Percy dodged around again, keeping himself hidden behind the giant's back.

"Where are you?" the giant bellowed.

Percy didn't answer, crouching behind a nearby column and crawling away from the giant as fast as he could. Granite shards dug into his knees and palms, but Percy gritted his teeth and kept crawling, slowly making his way to the shadows of a column directly behind the altar. He reached into his pocket and to his intense relief, felt the familiar shape of Riptide in his fingers.

The giant continued poking around the ruins, on the complete opposite side of the temple. Jason was roughly thirty feet to Percy's right, clutching at his ribs. Their eyes met, and Jason shook his head stiffly before doubling over in pain.

Percy felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized the force of the giant staff had probably broken several of Jason's ribs. That left him completely on his own to face the anti-Zeus.

Well, not alone. If he did this right, he'd have a partner.

He turned to look at the altar, where Annabeth was still sleeping, totally oblivious to the fights going on all around her. Even the ballistae bolts hadn't woken her. Almost unconsciously, he pulled Riptide out of his pocket.

Percy took one last look at the furious giant, who had begun to smash through the nearby columns as he searched for Percy.

Percy waited until Porphyrion's back was turned, then crept slowly into the firelight, uncapping Riptide. He kept a wary eye on the giant as he reached the edge of the altar.

He gazed down at Annabeth, hardly believing she was actually here. Her golden curls framed her face, seemingly glowing in the firelight. Her expression was one of total peace, her pink lips slightly parted as she breathed. He reached out and gently stroked her face, feeling her warm cheeks beneath his horribly scarred and calloused fingers.

He shook himself angrily, quickly checking that the giant hadn't seen him yet. Satisfied that he was still somehow unnoticed, he raised Riptide. He brought the sword down as hard as he could on the chains binding Annabeth's right arm, and the links shattered.

He went to repeat the process on the chains on her left hand, when a horrible burning pain erupted in his left shoulder. He screamed in agony, his knees buckling, but whatever had pierced him held him upright, his body weight pulling painfully down on the wound as he struggled to keep his footing. He looked down and saw that a jagged, sickle shaped sword had plunged straight through his body, the bloody tip curling below Percy's chin.

Through a haze of pain, he heard a hissing sound behind him, like a snake laughing.

He yelled as the sword was pushed further, driving him forward until he was on his hands and knees on the ground, the sword point penetrating the marble floor. His left arm refused to support his weight, so he was left balancing on his right hand, Riptide's hilt digging painfully into his palm.

"Well, well, well," said the voice of Porphyrion. "I see someone decided to play secret agent. Well done, Queen Sess. You will be greatly rewarded."

"It wassss my pleasure," a snake-like feminine voice hissed. "I have wanted revenge on thissss particular demigod ssssince the Titan War."

Queen Sess?

The name rang a distant bell, but Percy couldn't quite put his finger on it. Of course it didn't help that he had a sword stuck in his shoulder, but that's beside the point.

As if to answer his unspoken thought, two snake trunks slithered into view, stopping right before Percy. A face bent down into his red-tinged vision: a woman with distinct reptilian features marking her as a _Scythian dracanae_.

"Remember me?" the monster crooned. "You and your little friendssss desssstroyed my army. Made ussss look weak. How does it feel to be on the losing sssside, Perseusssss Jacksssson?" She reached forward and gave him a slight shove in the back.

Percy gritted his teeth as he slid down the sword, the jagged edges scraping against the edges of the wound. His face was about six inches from the floor, his right elbow sticking awkwardly out to the side as he struggled not to move up or down for fear of the sword moving further. His muscles were already trembling under the strain, causing starbursts of pain throughout his entire body.

Through the spots in his vision, he became aware of a puddle of red blood under his nose, swirling hypnotically along the white marble as it continued to grow in size.

Great. At this point, he'd just bleed to death. Then, something dawned on him: if he bled to death, they couldn't exactly use him as a blood sacrifice. Percy didn't know the complete set of rules regarding waking Gaea, but he was pretty sure that both demigods had to be alive and breathing. So if he somehow managed to stall long enough for himself to die...

Percy opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. The pain was so intense, he couldn't focus on anything for more than a couple seconds before he lost concentration. He couldn't even talk. So much for that plan.

Darkness began to cloud the edges of Percy's vision—not a flashback. His breathing was quick and shallow. He wasn't going to last much longer.

The giant seemed to have come to a similar conclusion, because he shouted something about putting Percy on the altar, but his voice seemed to come from faraway.

Percy let the darkness overcome him, embracing death with open arms as the pain in his shoulder became a dull throb. His own death seemed the only way to avoid Gaea's rising.

He could see the dim shape of Queen Sess leaning over him, picking him up into her arms, the sword jerking painfully as it was pulled out of the marble. Percy tried to move, tried to force his way out of her grasp, but found he couldn't even lift a finger.

Fresh waves of pain rolled from his shoulder as he was jostled around, and he could feel the darkness retreat slightly as his senses were brought back to earth. He gasped, giving a small cry as the blade shifted in his shoulder.

"Wait," Porphyrion ordered, definitely sounding more real than he had before.

An enormous green face came into Percy's vision, and he could see the calculating look in those blank white eyes. He began to feel slightly uneasy when the giant began to grin.

"Since pain seems to keep him in the world of the living," Porphyrion said, reaching an enormous hand under Percy's back.

Percy felt a slight shift of the blade in his body, than an atom bomb seemed to explode in his shoulder as the sword was pulled out, the giant paying no heed to the jagged edge or sickle shape that caused the blade to catch on the flesh inside the wound and tearing up the inside of Percy's shoulder even more. Percy became dimly aware of a keening, animal-like screech, and realized it was coming from his own throat as the pain became unbearable, encompassing his entire being until all that existed was him and the broiling agony.

The sword finally exited his body, leaving a gaping wound in its wake.

Percy writhed around in the snake woman's arms, trying to escape the agony as he felt himself being placed on a cool stone surface, something cold and heavy clamping down on his wrists. He forced himself to focus, to ignore his shoulder as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"The sssun risesssss," the voice of Queen Sess hissed near him. "We should hurry, my lord, before the others notice we have them both."

"Indeed," said Polyphemus.

Through a red haze, Percy saw a dark shape leaning over him that must've been the giant.

"Let's start with the girl, shall we?"

That brought Percy back to his senses. He gasped, pulling much needed air into his lungs as he forced his vision to clear. He tried to move his hands, but found them firmly chained to the altar below him. He began to panic when the giant leaned over Annabeth, reaching a hand forward to touch her forehead.

Annabeth gasped as the giant's finger made contact, her grey eyes fluttering open. "Wha—" She saw the giant standing over her and scowled in rage. "What did you do to me?"

"Put you to sleep for a while," the giant said easily. "Just until we caught your little boyfriend."

Annabeth looked confused, then became aware that someone was lying beside her. Her eyes widened in first relief, then horror. "Percy?" she breathed.

Percy could only moan in response, struggling not to faint right then and there. That would be embarrassing.

"What did you do to him?" Annabeth screeched when she saw the gaping hole in Percy's shoulder.

Porphyrion ran a finger down the edge of his spear. "Nothing he didn't deserve. He takes a little work to catch, but at least we know the proper bait." He grinned wolfishly down at Annabeth. "Then it was as easy as taking candy from a baby."

"Actually, it's pretty hard to take candy from a baby," Annabeth said sweetly. "It's called evasive maneuvering and guilt-tripping."

"Whatever. The important thing is, he fell for it, hook, line, and sinker." The giant waved his spear in the air. "Now I get to kill the two most famous demigods of all time!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posted from Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Original publish date: 7-29-15
> 
> IMPORTANT: I swear on the River Styx every idea, every description is 100% mine. This chapter was mapped out in my head two years before "Blood of Olympus" ever came out, and I did not intentionally copy Rick Riordan's published works in any way.

The spear seemed to hang suspended in the air above them, the enormous spearhead glinting evilly in the red light of the brazier.

Percy opened his mouth to cry out, to protest, but all that came out was a dry croak. Tears pricked behind his eyes; despite all his best efforts, Annabeth was going to die.

"Wait just a moment," another voice bellowed, and Percy started in shock as a second giant crested the top of the mountain, stepping with an earthshaking _BOOM_ into the temple. "I'm the anti-Athena. I think I deserve the honor of killing my nemesis's spawn."

Porphyrion glared at the second giant, whose greasy dreadlocks nearly made Percy barf, which certainly didn't help his rapidly growing nausea.

"Not now, Enceladus," the anti-Zeus snapped. "Mother said _I_ could kill the demigods."

"I get the son of Poseidon!" an all-too-familiar voice bellowed. Sure enough, Polybotes pounded up the mount in all his hideous green glory, casually swatting aside a ballista bolt aimed at his head like a fly and knocking it down the hillside as he sauntered into the temple. "I want my revenge."

Briefly, Percy marveled that thirty foot tall beings still managed to squabble like playground children over the favorite swing.

"You had your chance, Polybotes," Porphyrion snarled, "back at the Roman camp. And you failed _miserably_."

The sea god's bane growled, the menacing sound echoing through the temple and vibrating the already cracked and strained marble. Hefting his enormous trident and swinging his weighted net nonchalantly in his other hand, Polybotes gave his brother a dangerous smirk. "I did not fail."

"Yes, you did," the elder giant crowed triumphantly. "You were supposed to destroy the camp. As far as I can tell, it is still very much standing."

"I did destroy Camp Jupiter!"

"You only destroyed part of the camp. That is not the same." Porphyrion turned to Enceladus. "Before you pipe in with your fancy little words, you failed as well. Your job was to eliminate Jason Grace and Leo Valdez, and yet there they stand on the deck of that blasted warship raining fire down upon us."

Enceladus scowled, and Percy imagined he saw tongues of flame dancing behind the scaly lips. Apparently this giant could breath fire.

Just then, Percy's vision began to swim, the giant's squabbling voices fading as if with distance as Percy slowly sank into the altar. The stone seemed rather comfortable all of a sudden, squishy and feathery. Just like his bed back home.

Home.

The rock seemed to harden again, and Percy became once more agonizingly aware of his shoulder blades cramped against the hard granite. He couldn't die now. Not with his mother and Paul waiting anxiously and probably terrified for his return. Not with all of his friends in danger of being slaughtered in their very home by his other family. And certainly not with Annabeth strapped right beside him. Despite their situation, he felt a surge of hope, and at the same time raging defiance bubbling inside him. Annabeth was back at his side. They would get out of this together, just as they'd done countless times before. He refused to let it end any other way.

Painfully, he managed to turn his head minutely toward Annabeth, whose eyebrows were tightly creased and her lips pursed in a very familiar expression. With a faint smile, he imagined the gears furiously turning as she strove to come up with a plan.

Percy opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a husky gasp.

Nevertheless, Annabeth jerked in his direction, blonde hair flying, her intense grey eyes glittering with determination and desperation. As if reading his mind, she slowly scooted closer to him, keeping one eye on the still arguing sons of the earth goddess. With a final turn, she brought her head to his, so close that the shell of her ear brushed his lips. "What is it?" she murmured.

Gathering what breath he had left, Percy wheezed: "Dagger. My waist."

Annabeth pulled back slightly, giving him a quizzical look. Then her gaze wandered down. Her eyes widened in understanding. Slowly, carefully, she reached out with her free right hand—the giants hadn't noticed the broken chain—and Percy felt the tips of her fingers brush his skin as she slipped her dagger out of its sheath at Percy's hip.

"Pick the lock," Percy hissed, spots beginning to dance in front of his vision from blood loss. His previous dizziness seemed to increase, a faint buzz in his ears joining the general chaos that was his senses as the world refused to come into focus before his eyes. This was really starting to get old.

 _"ENOUGH!"_ bellowed Porphyrion, Percy involuntarily flinching at the sudden, unexpected volume.

"We are wasting time," Porphyrion insisted. "I'm killing them, and that's that."

A dark shape loomed over them, and Percy heard Annabeth take a quick intake of breath. His own heart did a frightened ba-bump.

A faint click echoed through the blood pounding in Percy's ears. His left arm was free.

The shadow that Percy assumed was the giant hesitated, peering closely down at them. "What are you doing?" he barked.

Before Percy's brain could fully process they were doomed, Annabeth gave a sudden cry, throwing herself halfway over him, as far as her still chained hand would allow. "Don't kill us!" she screamed, the desperation in her voice loud and genuine through the static in his eardrums.

Lethargically, Percy blinked in confusion, his brain refusing to come up with a viable reason for Annabeth's random strange behavior. What was she doing?

Porphyrion sneered cruelly, brandishing his spear with somewhat unnecessary flair. "And why shouldn't I, daughter of Athena?"

"Don't let her talk!" Enceladus snarled warningly. "She is trying to trick you."

Ah. That was the conclusion Percy's brain was trying to reach. Pride swelled within him at her cleverness, quickly followed by slight panic; there was no way she could talk their way out of this one...right?

"Nonsense," Porphyrion snapped, glaring back at his brother. "I want to hear the mighty Daughter of Athena beg for her life."

Annabeth took a deep, shuddering breath, as if gathering the nerves to speak. Percy could distinctly feel her heart pounding against his chest through the thin layers of fabric between them. "Because..." she gulped, distress written across her features, grey eyes fixed determinedly at the tip of the giant's spear. "Because I'm pregnant."

Percy's eyes flew open, a gasp escaping his throat as the shock drove him once more into the world of the living. What...the...Hades. They hadn't...he wouldn't... Cold hard terror swam through his veins, his heart practically burning it was beating so hard. How in Tartarus was that even _possible_?!

The giants stood frozen, blank eyes staring in open shock at Annabeth's bound form.

"Oh," Porphyrion said finally, blinking his milky white eyes, completely stunned by the revelation. "That's...um..."

"Perfect," Enceladus hissed, a hideous smile stretching across his reptilian features. "That's perfect! Now we will not only eradicate the two most famous demigods of all time, but we shall destroy a future generation of their spawn!"

"Yes," Polybotes cried excitedly, coming out of his shocked stupor with a sadistic smile. "We shall crush the gods' and demigods' hopes by slaying their respective offspring! Brother, give me the spear. I wish to kill two of Poseidon's spawn with one fell swoop!"

"No, give it to me," Enceladus protested. "It's my turn to kill two Athena spawn!"

Annabeth's pretty, frightened face appeared in Percy's fuzzy, shell-shocked stare. One twinkling grey eye winked.

It took a few moments for its meaning to register in Percy's sluggish brain as the arm over his body touched his wrist. Then the shackle on his right hand loosened, freeing itself with a light _clunk_ on the stone below, unnoticed by the once more squabbling giants. Despite his pain, he managed to quirk a proud smile up at her. "Genius," he whispered.

"SILENCE!" Porphyrion screeched, yet again sending his brothers into a temporary quiet. "The sun is almost fully risen. We have no time for your petty arguments! I will slay the demigods, as dear Mother Earth has ordained." Pointing a fat finger at Annabeth, still splayed over Percy's body, he wagged the appendage disapprovingly while tutting in amusement. "No more stalling, Daughter of Athena. Your mother would be proud, if she weren't so divided. But now it is time to face your fate."

"Percy," Annabeth breathed, slight fear lacing her tone. "My wrist..."

A startled jolt shot up Percy's spine. Annabeth's left hand was still firmly chained to the altar. This put her completely at the mercy of the giant toothpick glinting only twenty feet above. Unless...

With difficulty, Percy managed to twist his arm and stretch his hand into his pocket, fingers curling clumsily around his ballpoint pen, Riptide. Sucking in a deep, shuddering breath, he fought to gather his last reserves of energy. He could do this. He would save Annabeth, if it was the last thing he did. And at the rate the blood was pouring from his body, he thought cynically, it probably would be.

The blurry form of the giant stood over them, spear raised, to come down for the kill—and this time, there would be no stalling. Percy could practically feel the cruelty radiating from those blank white eyes.

"For Gaea!" Porphyrion bellowed almost manically, spear plunging toward them—toward Annabeth.

 _One...two..._ Percy launched himself off the stone table, uncapping Riptide in the same movement. Hardly thinking, he grasped the edge of the sword, ignorant of the cold metal biting into his flesh as he thrust it before him like a quarterstaff. With a yell of anger, the Celestial bronze collided with the giant spear, Percy's momentum swaying the unsuspecting weapon to the side. The spear tip crashed into the ground barely six inches from the altar, burying itself deep within the granite floor and throwing Percy head over heels as his tenuous grip was lost.

Smashing to the ground beside the triangular piece of metal, pain rippled through his entire body as Riptide clattered to the ground several feet away, bouncing almost in slow motion on the dusty ground. Everything was a swirl of colors before him, the screeching of the monsters on the hillside and the yelling of angry giants fading into white noise in his ears until the only thing he could hear was his own slowing heartbeat. Even the pain that had been his constant companion for the last few days was fading.

_Thump...thump...thump..._

Darkness invaded the spiral of colors, consuming him with cold. _I'm sorry, Annabeth._

Just as he allowed himself to fall into the inky black soup, brilliant white light burst through his eyelids, nearly making him blind despite the protective layer of skin. With an exhausted groan, he pried his lids open one last time: and his already slack jaw dropped.

Above him, the grey clouds had separated, revealing the gentle red rays of the rising sun. (A red dawn—go figure.) But that wasn't what had caught his attention: streaming from the gap between the clouds were...the gods. Like, the actual gods of Olympus. Each stood in his or her own Ancient Greek chariot drawn by animals of all sizes, shapes, and colors, all glowing with power. For a moment, he imagined he could see his father in a sleek blue and green ride that was surprisingly similar to his and Tyson's Poseidon chariot back at camp—he wondered if Tyson had made this one, too—pulled rapidly along by two pitch black horses that yanked over excitedly at the bits, as wild and unpredictable as the sea. At the sea god's left, the king of the gods himself stood in a chariot with a paint job that seemed to be comprised of all the colors of the sky, from the pinkish hues of dawn to the pitch black of midnight. The sky chariot was carried along by horse-formed _venti_ , the chaotic spirits of the wind dancing and crackling with lightning. He could even see Athena perched proud and tall in a simple grey chariot pulled by...were those owls?

The momentary clarity caused by the sheer brilliance of the sight above him began to wear thin. He thought he saw a golden blur detach itself from the mob, making a beeline in his direction. Light and heat seared through the backs of his eyelids. With some trepidation, he realized he hadn't even noticed he'd closed them. It grew hotter and hotter, brighter and brighter, when suddenly, both sensations faded, almost as if they were never there.

Footsteps echoed loudly through the granite beneath his ears, and he sensed a powerful presence kneeling beside him.

"What the Fates, Percy," a familiar voice murmured. "What did you do to yourself this time?"

A hand, warm and gentle, pressed itself against his injured shoulder. He was too tired to do much more than flinch at the unexpected contact. The person above him was muttering something, seemingly chanting under his breath.

Suddenly, the pain faded. His mind became clearer, his body lighter as the fight back from the fringes of unconsciousness became easier.

Eyes flying open, Percy jerked upright with a startled gasp.

"Whoa!" said the voice, its owner stumbling backward and falling roughly on his rear. "Easy, dude!"

Still slightly disoriented, Percy swiveled toward the source of the voice of his savior. Sitting next to him was none other than Apollo. He appeared just like Percy remembered: a 17-year-old teenager dressed in an orange T-shirt and ratty jeans with a kill-the-ladies surfer style hair. Only this time his usually casual outfit was surmounted by glowing golden armor.

The god shot him his signature blinding white smile. "Thought you wouldn't make it for a sec there, Perce. Looks like I timed that perfectly, huh?"

"Yeah," Percy muttered. "Looks like."

Shaking his head to clear the remaining fog, he was suddenly hyperaware of the events going on around them. The sight before him was so unfamiliar and brilliant he was certain his fried brain was playing tricks on him. Because there were the giants stampeding around the mountain in a near panic as gods and demigods together stormed wildly through their previously confident ranks.

Across the temple, he could see Piper and Aphrodite battling some giant he had never seen before, Piper almost like a whirlwind as she alternately fired full-cooked turkeys into its nose and stabbed the giant's reptilian legs with Katoptris as her mother Aphrodite hovered above her. The love goddess was alternately shouting encouragement to Piper and insults at their opponent, sending blasts of pink, scented magic into the giant's ugly face. (A few cries like, "I'm sorry, dear, but you stink! Perfume is 50% off at Medea's, you really should try some," and "We're so much prettier than you!" wafted to Percy's ears.) Frank stood with Ares—Mars, whatever—fighting a giant with fiery red skin. Despite his immense size and massive broadsword, the giant didn't stand a chance as the war god's and his son's spears ripped far deeper than the scraggly hair on the thick head. Leo and a misshapen man Percy recognized as Hephaestus twirled levers and dials on the control board of the _Argo II_ , launching ballistae bolts while Festus spewed massive tongues of fire as they simultaneously chucked hammers over the rails at what was probably the anti-Hephaestus.

This information slowly sank into the mush puddle that was his brain. Gods and demigods...fighting side-by-side against the giants... Stricken, he ogled at the smirking sun god. "Are you _sure_ I'm not dead?" Percy demanded in disbelief.

Apollo laughed, clapping Percy's healed shoulder hard enough to sting even without the wound. "Nah, but you certainly gave it your best shot! Now if you'll excuse me." He jerked his head toward the opposite side of the across the altar. "I'd better give some assist to my little bro over there." And just like that, the god was gone, sprinting through the rubble toward the prostrate form of Jason Grace at the far end of the ruins.

These latest mind boggling events threatened to overwhelm Percy with vertigo, his mind struggling to wrap around this foreign concept of gods and demigods as he strove to concentrate on something, anything. And that's when his eyes focused on the one thing—or rather, person—that never failed to keep him grounded. With a grin, he clambered to his feet, swaying a bit from blood loss, but soon finding his footing enough to hobble back to the stone altar where sat a certain daughter of Athena.

Annabeth perched regally on the stone, her other wrist now free, watching him approach with flashing grey eyes and crossed arms. "Seaweed Brain."

Percy grinned harder, unable to help himself. "Wise Girl."

Without warning, she launched herself off the table, tackling him in a hug as she pressed her face against the curve of his shoulder. Immediately, Percy's arms wrapped around her protectively, pulling her as close as possible without, you know, crushing her. He buried his face in her hair, breathing in the wonderfully familiar lemony scent that had somehow survived through this whole crazy adventure. "I love you," he whispered, tears again tickling the backs of his eyes. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Annabeth murmured back.

The shoulder of his tattered T-shirt was warm and wet where Annabeth's face was buried, but Percy didn't care. Especially since there was quite possibly a damp patch on the crown of Annabeth's head, too.

A massive boom echoed down the mountain, followed by fearful cries, and finally, reluctantly, they pulled apart.

"What was that?" Annabeth asked, eyes flicking around the scattered marble.

Percy turned toward the source of the noise. A smile again quirked at his lips. "Looks like the Athena Parthenos is about to do its work."

Sure enough, looming over the courtyard ruins was the forty foot statue they had sacrificed so much to retrieve. Its radiant glow cast itself over the entire mountain, the giants staggering backward in fright from its light even though it had yet to make contact with the ground. The entire monster army—at least, what hadn't already been destroyed—fled down the mountain in droves, heedless of their masters' roaring, slightly desperate calls for them to stand and fight.

Percy spotted his father dueling Polybotes in the corner, Athena grappling Enceladus nearby.

"Well, what do you think?" Percy said, gesturing at the raging battlefield. "Want to participate in the butt whooping?"

Annebeth rolled her eyes, though Percy could see the amusement flashing in the dark grey irises. "Whatever you say, Seaweed Brain."

They hefted their weapons, and together, charged into the war.

Everything after that was a blur. Percy's brain literally stopped at: _I'm fighting next to Poseidon_. Later, he could only recall certain little details of the fight—Polybotes' terrified face as Percy and his dad plunged their weapons into his chest simultaneously; the moment they found themselves fighting back-to-back with the Athena squad against another giant Percy couldn't name; the children of Hades working their underworld magic on the rapidly diminishing armies of monsters as their father directed the Furies and tore his black spike chariot wheels through spirits around them—and Percy found that was enough.

He remembered the horror that shuddered through the ranks as the Athena Parthenos finally hit marble, angry energy radiating from her in waves and throwing the monsters into fresh panic—much like at the Doors of Death a week or so before. The effect on the giants was palpable as gods and demigods fought together with renewed force. Sheets of darkness oozed down the mountain as Hades and his two children fought tooth and nail against a giant that seemed to be made of shadows. Jason (back on his feet seeming no worse for wear) zipped back and forth around the giant Porphyrion's greasy head like a blonde and purple hummingbird as his father came in to stab his master bolt into the giant's no-no area. Words flew back and forth between Enceladus and Annabeth and Athena, each goading the other on as the goddess and her daughter worked as one to weave a net around the oblivious giant's legs. And Annabeth said _Percy_ had a big mouth.

His clarity returned completely just as Zeus (or was that Jupiter?) and Jason obliterated the last giant with an impressive display of lightning. The demigods of the Seven (plus Nico) found themselves grouped together in a tight circle, the gods forming a bigger, looser one around them.

For a moment, there was only silence, broken only by the wind whistling through the few remaining standing marble columns as the sun broke completely over the horizon and the quieting howls and footsteps as what was left of the rent legions of baddies retreated from the mountainside.

Percy raised a questioning eyebrow toward the growing light in the eastern sky. "So who's running the sun over there?" he asked Apollo.

The god gave his megawatt grin. "Oh, Helios agreed to log in a few hours while I kicked giant butt."

Percy smiled. "Cool."

"Hot," the god corrected.

—

_"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."_

_"He's the sun god."_

_"That's not what I meant."_

—

"Percy Jackson," Zeus rumbled, effectively interrupting their conversation, "Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Frank Zhang, Hazel Leveque, and..." He gave the son of Hades a cursory glance. "Nico di Angelo. You all started out on a quest to save the world from itself—that is to say, Mother Earth. Seven demigods answered the call, and—"

"Oh, spare us your dramatics brother," Poseidon sighed.

Hades grunted. "For once, I agree with Poseidon. Shut up, Zeus."

Zeus's eyes turned frighteningly stormy. He whirled upon his brothers, hand gripping a certain master bolt tightly in one hand. "Brothers, so help me, I—"

"You what?" Athena snorted. "For once, maybe you should listen to your siblings, Father."

The silence that followed the wisdom goddesses' statement was practically burning with electricity, the hairs on the back of Percy's neck prickling in warning.

Leo raised his hand slowly, nervousness flickering across his elfish features. "Um...hate to burst anyone's bubble, cloud, whatever, but...I don't think the prophecy's over quite yet."

Everyone turned immediately toward the son of Hephaestus, and Leo seemed to shrink under the gazes of thirteen deities and seven demigods.

"What do you mean?" Athena demanded.

"Well, there's four lines, isn't there?" Leo said nervously. He began to tick off on his fingers: "Seven half-bloods answered the call. Check. We closed the Doors of Death. Check. But what about the oath to keep with a final breath?"

There was a deafening silence.

Now it was Percy's turn to raise an uncomfortable hand. "Um...I think that'd be me." And then Percy understood how Leo felt as all eyes fell on him.

"Well, you see," Percy managed in a rush, "at the Doors, Annabeth made me promise to come back to her when I was going to leave and help Jason. And then she closed the Doors, and I thought she was dead, but then I came here and rescued her, and I kinda had several final breaths there from blood loss, so..." He shrugged awkwardly. "Yeah, I think that's it."

Yet another tense silence that sent Percy's nerves wrangling filled the air.

"That," breathed Aphrodite finally, "is...so... _sweet_!" she squealed. "I've always said you two were the perfect couple, didn't I?" She glanced back and forth between Hazel, Piper, and Annabeth, as if searching for their agreement. "I told you you were all such wonderful stories—er, children!"

"Right," Piper said shortly. "Thanks, Mom."

"But there's still one more line," Leo protested. "To storm or fire the world must fall. What's with that?"

It was very clear to Percy that this was what Leo had been itching to ask all along. Suddenly, a fresh wave of panic rolled over him as he scanned the faces around him desperately, hoping someone could come up with an answer to this sudden dilemma. After all, that particular line of the prophecy did potentially concern Percy, and it would certainly be nice to know whether or not there was still danger of the world falling seeing as it hadn't been destroyed by either—at least, that Percy knew of—storm or fire.

"Storm," said a quiet voice behind Percy, causing him to jump.

Nico stepped into the fringes of the circle, the bags under his lids sticking out in the sharp contrast to the pale pallor of his skin in the flickering light of the brazier. Deep brown eyes focused on Percy. "The world is a synonym to earth, meaning Gaea. Mother Earth fell to storm when Percy escaped the altar."

There was a beat of contemplative silence.

"That could be," Athena admitted finally.

"It is," Hazel said unexpectedly. "Gaea is sleeping again. I can feel it."

Hades—or maybe Pluto—inclined his head toward Nico, then Hazel. "I agree with my children. Gaea is once more at rest."

"Well, it sounds great to me," Leo crowed, a relieved version of his typical impish grin spreading on his features. He threw his shoulders back as if throwing off an enormous weight, pumping his fists to the sky. "That's right! We owned this battle!"

"Only because the gods showed up," Hazel chastised. "Otherwise, we'd all be dead meat by now."

Percy could have sworn he heard Zeus mutter, "True, true."

"Wait a second," Percy said suddenly, realizing something strange. He gestured at the gods surrounding them. "How'd you guys even get here? I mean, no offense, but I thought you were all suffering from shiso—schizo—"

"Schizophrenia," Annabeth offered.

Percy nodded in thanks, squeezing her hand lightly. "Yeah, that. How come you're not all..." He was going to say loopy, but figured that might be taken the wrong way. "Split up?"

"Good question, son of Poseidon," a smooth voice said, the grey figure of Athena slipping forward from the circle of gods. Ignoring her father's glaring look, she kept her eyes fixed on Percy and Annabeth—more specifically, their joined hands. "The gods' personalities, as you know, became quite divided when the Greek and Roman camps began to mingle, and even more so when they discovered each other and started fighting. But right here, right now, your fellowship as friends—as Greeks and Romans warring side-by-side not as enemies, but as allies—brought our two personalities together, if only for a little while."

Her cold, calculating gaze finally left the couple and spread to the other demigods. "The only way this peace of mind can continue after you have departed is for you to unite the Greek and Roman camps. Call a cease fire."

"But how do we know whether or not the two camps have destroyed each other yet?" Piper asked. "No offense, my lady."

Athena's lips pursed. "None taken. But the point is, the Romans have chosen to begin their attack on Camp Half-Blood this very day. You have maybe ten minutes to stop them before the bloodshed begins."

 _"What?!"_ the demigods yelled in unison.

"Come on!" Leo complained. "The _Argo II_ is fast, but it's not _that_ fast! It took us _weeks_ to get here!"

Piper sent the gods a pleading look. "Can you help us?"

There was a moment of hesitation.

"Yes."

Percy blinked in surprise as the wisdom goddess yet again stepped forward—one of the least likely goddesses Percy had expected to support them.

At Zeus's frown, his daughter hastened to explain: "Father, the only way for this war to end is to bring my statue to Camp Half-Blood in time to stop the battle. If they begin before it gets there...I shudder to think."

"Much as I hate to admit it, I agree with Owl Head," Ares said. "I love war, but fighting myself sucks. It's not even a physical battle!"

"But the gods can't interfere—" Zeus started.

"It couldn't hurt to break a rule or two once in a few millennia," Poseidon interrupted. His gaze settled on Percy, sea green eyes twinkling. "Fates know, the results aren't always bad."

The other Olympians chorused their agreement.

Zeus's face remained as stony as his bust likeness in the opposite corner—only the real Zeus didn't have a flat shaved skull.

"Very well," he decided. "We will assist the demigods in returning to their home." He held up his hands as if to ward off any applause. "But that is all. We cannot show favoritism by joining the battle itself."

Percy barely resisted the urge to sigh in relief, a smile poking at the corners of his mouth despite their dangerous situation. That's all he could have asked for. The last thing they needed was a bunch of shizowhatever gods and goddesses blasting both sides to pieces in their confusion.

"All right!" Leo whooped, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "All aboard who's coming aboard!"

"It's a ship, not a train, Leo," Piper interjected.

Leo waved dismissively. "Details, details."

As the other members of the Seven moved toward the ship hovering above the temple, Percy felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Percy."

Percy looked over his shoulder to find himself face-to-face with Poseidon, the god staring down at him intently with an unreadable expression. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Percy almost scoffed. It's not like he could say no, even if he wanted to. He glanced at Annabeth, who was still clutching his arm, asking a silent question. She inclined her head lightly, giving him a small smile.

Turning back to his father, he tried for an indifferent shrug even as his heart beat a little faster in his chest. "Sure."

He resisted the urge to gulp. It had been a whole year since he'd last seen his father, and before that had been even longer. The sum total of the times he'd even spoken to Poseidon barely reached half a dozen. And Percy still wasn't sure how he was supposed to act around him.

Slightly apprehensive, he followed his father to the edge of the half-ruined temple, his fingers fidgeting nervously around the now capped Riptide as the god came to a halt.

For a long moment, the sea green eyes that he shared with his father were trained on Percy, the bright irises somehow blank and chock full of emotion at the same time.

"Uh," Percy started uncomfortably, "something you wanted to say, sir?"

The continued silence began to unnerve him. He was beginning to entertain the idea that a gorgon was standing behind him that had converted the god into stone when Poseidon suddenly spoke up: "I'm proud of you, Percy."

Percy blinked. Wait, what? An unintelligible, not very intelligent noise erupted like, "Uuuuuuh, guh ba huh," from his mouth, and he hastily clopped his dangling jaw closed.

But Poseidon wasn't finished yet.

"I have never been this proud of any one of my children before," the god continued. "What you have accomplished in your years as a demigod are truly feats that will be remembered for generations, legends that will be carried down to your great-great-great-great grandchildren." A strong, sun bronzed hand came down on Percy's shoulders, squeezing gently. "You, Perseus Jackson, are a hero in every sense of the word. For that, you deserve my pride. And my love."

Percy stared. A lump formed in his throat, making it difficult to find his voice. He was only partially aware of what might have been his tongue dangling from his open mouth. Luckily, Poseidon didn't seem to expect an answer.

The god took a step forward, arms spread, and before Percy could comprehend what was happening, he found himself enveloped in a hug. His brain turned to Jell-O as it gave up processing what in Hades' name was happening as he was surrounded by the calming salty scent of the sea. And just as quickly as the hug was initiated, Poseidon took a step back, the slightly startled expression on his face revealing that he wasn't quite sure why he'd hugged Percy either.

For a moment, they stood in an awkward quiet, neither quite sure what to say or do next.

Without warning, the voice of a certain son of Hephaestus came booming down from somewhere above them, causing both the sea and his son to jump back a foot in surprise: "Hey, you guys done? It's about time we booked this joint!"

"I should be going," Percy said quickly, taking Leo's unintentional opening as he took a few hesitant steps backward. "Um...thanks?"

The god smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling in that certain pleasant way as he nodded at Percy. "Anytime, Percy."

Percy bobbed his head several times. "Yeah. Okay. Er...bye!"

In a daze, he wandered out from behind the pillar that had been conveniently left standing, staggering over to the slightly impatient Annabeth Chase waiting at the bottom of the rope ladder to the _Argo II_.

"Come on, Seaweed Brain!" she urged, snatching his hand the moment he was in range and swinging him ahead of her on the ladder. "The camps need us!"

"Right," Percy mumbled, shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts as one of his feet fumbled on the rung. "Right. Camp needs us." And with that, he stopped trying to wrap his mind around what had happened below—at least for the moment.

A fierce resolve overcame his confusion: he had to save his two homes before they tore each other apart. He refused to let even one demigod die on that hill today. Today was the day this war would end.

Before he knew it, Percy was lifting his leg over the railing, sneakers coming down on the familiar boards of the deck. He helped hoist Annabeth up as Jason rapidly wound the ladder up behind them.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Piper urged, shoving Percy and Annabeth toward the mast where the others already stood. "Grab the mast, and hold on tight!"

"Are you ready?" a thunderous voice boomed behind them, and it was all Percy could do not to duck his head at the sight of the king of the gods hovering at the stern in all his enormous glory, the master bolt crackling and shooting sparks the size of lightning bolts in his hand.

"Ready!" the demigods of the Seven called back, Nico giving only a minute nod.

Zeus hefted his weapon in his hands, waving it like a wand into the clouds before the bronze ship.

With a crack of lightning and a roll of thunder, a huge portal opened before them; a great sucking hole in the middle of the sky. And they were flying right for it. Percy bit down on his panic, but his heart started beating faster anyway just as they flew into the darkness. For thirty seconds, there was nothing but the blackness—whispering voices poked at his mind, cold enveloped his body. Percy's vision began to crumble, a fine mist spreading across his vision that marked the start of a flashback. Suddenly, a familiar hand squeezed his, feathery light hair brushing against his cheek.

Annabeth.

His heartbeat settled, his muscles relaxing slightly as he was pulled from the terrors of his mind,

And suddenly, they broke free of the shadow and into the bright yellow sunlight of Long Island Sound.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posted from Fanfiction.net.
> 
> Original publish date: 7-31-15
> 
> (Just realized I accidentally left Coach Hedge out of this entire story... Whoops? :3)

 It took a few moments for Percy's eyes to get used to the sudden brightness of the New York sun after so much time under the black clouds of Mount Olympus. The now fully risen sun seared his unsuspecting retinas, his eyes watering reflexively. But just as he adjusted to the glare, tears filled them again; this time for a different reason.

Before them sprawled the horribly, achingly familiar valley of Camp Half-Blood. He could see the entire valley containing the omega-shaped cluster of cabins with its bottom rectangle. The Big House with its hideous baby blue paint and the wraparound porch (he could swear he saw a card table on the front) stood a hundred feet from the base of the hill, as garish and familiar as always. The strawberry fields marched out into the distant horizon, the trembling rock wall spewing lava down its sides nearby. He even spotted the packed oval circle where the chariot races were held. The nostalgia bubbled up in his stomach so fast, it was almost like someone had popped a can of soda in there.

And then his eyes landed on Half-Blood Hill—Thalia's tree—and the nostalgia became nausea.

Two armies stood on either side of the massive mound: one orange (on the camp side) and one purple. Standing in ruler straight ranks, the purple plunderers (er, Romans) bore violet and gold banners proclaiming the different cohorts that flapped and snapped in the dry wind. The Golden Eagle was held proudly at the front beside the Fifth Legion's praetor: Reyna. Regally perched on the back of her peanut butter pegasus, Scipio, the forever stern look on her face was like that of a marble statue. With the spears stuck up in straight lines and the spikes on their boots, the Romans beat a formidable sight.

On the other hand (or hillside) was...well, a more chaotic scene. Dented bronze armor glinted in the sunlight, goat fur, helmet horse hair, and leaves drifting around the waving, multi-colored flags. A hodgepodge of weapons bristled amongst the scattered campers, satyrs, and nymphs: cudgels, spears, swords, daggers, bows, a defective coffee machine (never underestimate the power of hot water and coffee beans). But what they lacked in organization, they made up for in ferocity. Percy knew. He'd fought alongside them. _Both_ of them.

Percy swallowed. There was no way this could end well. For anyone. Except maybe Gaea, but she didn't count so much anymore. Percy hoped that she would kinda stay down after that whole Olympus incident...

A yell broke through the tense silence below them, a familiar commanding voice roaring: "Romans! Fifth Legion Fulminata!" Reyna.

 _"Fifth Legion Fulminata!"_ Camp Jupiter echoed, the battlecry rolling across the valley in a huge wave of sound that was almost tangible in its volume. And then they were marching, lightning crackling dangerously from the wing tips of the mighty golden eagle in its bearer's hands. Up the hill, toward the massive pine tree they went, headed straight for the front lines of Camp Half-Blood perched just at the edge of the invisible magic border.

"Greeks!" Clarisse screamed as she hefted her electric spear into the air. (Percy had long ago lost track of how many of those zappy toothpicks she'd gone through.) "Kill the invaders!"

 _"Yeeeeeaaaahhhh!"_ came the answering roar, several of the Ares campers banging on their shields with their swords in almost excitement. "For Olympus!"

Then both armies were moving, the gap closing between them—two hundred feet...one fifty...one hundred...

"Percy!" someone screeched in his ear.

Percy instinctively flinched, leaning away from the sudden sound as his mind and body seemed to unfreeze.

Annabeth was tugging on his arm, her face tense and ashen. She pointed at the two attacking camps, as if Percy hadn't noticed them. "We have to do something!"

"Right," Percy muttered. Quickly, he shook his head, clearing the last vestiges of fog from his mind. "Right. Leo!"

The Hispanic jumped at the controls, seeming to break out of a shocked stupor. "Wha—? Oh, right! Admiral Leo, at your service!"

Percy could see sweat under the younger boy's hairline, trickling down Leo's neck and soaking the back of his shirt as he sprang for the controls. Percy decided not to judge seeing as the pits of his arms weren't much dryer—and he was the son of the sea god.

"Bring us lower," Percy ordered. "Right between them. Get as close to the ground as you can without killing anybody."

"Got it!" Leo replied, fingers already flying across the dash.

"Piper!" Percy called.

Dazed kaleidoscope eyes met his.

"Grab a megaphone, and get to the prow," he directed. "Try to get them to stop attacking each other."

"They're not _technically_ attacking yet," Jason murmured. "Neither side has made contact."

Percy turned toward him. "And I'd like to keep it that way, thanks. Think you can summon a little wind power?"

His cousin smiled grimly. "You betcha." And, as if to prove his point, he shot off the warship in a miniature hurricane, swooping down the still clear center and blowing enormous gusts of wind at the troops, Greek and Roman alike.

Confusion rippled through the ranks of demigods at the sudden wind, dazed eyes turning to the sky. A plethora of gaping mouths and pointed fingers were aimed at the rapidly descending _Argo II_ , soldiers staggering in their ranks and toppling others in the growing turmoil. But the mission had been accomplished: not a single Greek or Roman demigod had touched (attacked) the other...yet.

At the same moment, a familiar voice washed over the scene: "Stop fighting! Lay down your weapons and surrender!" Percy's hand was already in his pocket before he realized what he was doing and stilled his fingers against the urge.

The command was almost (almost) unnecessary considering most of both armies had stopped to gawk. There was a brief moment of chaos as half the demigods attempted to drop their weapons—attempt as in, at least on the Roman side of things, spears and pilums swung onto their fellow, tightly-packed soldiers' heads. A few dazed hands went up in the air before their owners seemed to realize what they were doing and hastily dropped them again. And then everyone was frozen, silent and staring as Leo pulled up the massive warship fifteen feet from the ground.

Hovering indecisively between the two armies and the ship, Jason glanced up, electric blue eyes meeting Percy's in a silent question: _What now?_

With a start, he realized that everyone on deck also had their eyes fixed on him, waiting for him to speak, to tell them what to do next. Even Annabeth.

Immediately, Percy felt the unfortunately familiar weight of responsibility crashing down on his shoulders. It was his job to make things right. It was his job to protect his friends from harm. It was his job to get everyone out of this situation alive.

It was time to live up to those ever growing expectations one more time.

Clearing his throat quickly, Percy jerked himself back to the present. He figured it was only shock and charmspeak that had kept everyone quiet thus far. He had to act quickly for the peace to last.

Someone took his hand and Percy flinched slightly, turning to see Annabeth standing at his side, grey eyes hard and determined. She nodded shortly.

And with a deep breath, and a quick swallow, Percy and Annabeth strode to the prow where Piper stood poised with the megaphone, occasionally urging the rapidly angering Romans not to fire at the ship that had blown up their city merely months before.

The two demigods poised themselves next to the bronze dragon head perched on the prow, plainly visible to all below them. There was a beat of silence. Then murmurs broke out amongst the two armies, excited on the Greek's side, slightly rebellious on the Roman's side. A few Camp Half-Blood members even called out greetings to them, waving their hands over the crowd of horse hair helmets.

Percy held up a hand for quiet. And suddenly, the silence was so absolute Percy could hear the wind rustling the leaves of the dryad trees in the forest beyond the Big House.

Piper passed him the megaphone, and he held it nervously to his lips.

Percy suddenly realized he didn't have a clue what he was going to say. "Um...hi," he said, voice echoing over the hilltop. Even he had to wince at how stupid that sounded.

Beside him, Annabeth gave his hand a quick, reassuring squeeze. Percy's heart slowly stopped its nervous pitter patter. Resolve rolled over him like a fresh sea breeze. He could do this. If he could take down giants, he could talk some sense into his two crazy families.

"Hi," he repeated, more assured and confident this time. "Before any of you think of attacking us or each other, we ask that you give us ten minutes. Just ten short minutes to tell you why everyone should put aside their weapons. Sound good?"

A few grumbled words were heard. Percy decided that meant a 'yes.'

"Just in case any of you don't know me,"—cue snorts from the Greek audience—"my name is Percy Jackson. And this..." He gestured toward the other demigods of the Seven who had filed in behind them, each looking nervous and determined in their own right. "...Is the crew of the _Argo II_ , or as you probably know, the seven demigods of the latest Great Prophecy."

Almost immediately, whispers broke out in the ranks below.

"We have just returned from Greece," Percy shouted over the noise, "from Mount Olympus where the final battle against Mother Earth ended about..." He thought for a moment. "Thirty minutes ago."

Gasps of surprise and cries of doubt erupted under him, filling the hillside with a jumble of sound.

"We are here to tell you that the prophecy has been fulfilled," Percy continued. "For those of you who don't know it, the exact words are:

_Seven half-bloods shall answer the call_

_To storm or fire the world must fall_

_An oath to keep with a final breath_

_And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death_

"Seven demigods from both camps worked together and closed the Doors of Death," Percy said. "We even gained another on the way. The world, or Gaea, fell to storm and the oath has been kept. The second Giant War is over."

Percy really hadn't expected his words to be believed just like that. Sure enough, it was merely seconds after Percy's startling proclamation that an all too familiar voice called out from the Fifth Legion: "And how do we know you are telling the truth?"

Suppressing a sigh, Percy glanced down to see a skinny, straw haired boy clutching a knife and a teddy bear, and looking thoroughly ridiculous staggering around in full Roman armor, came stumbling from the ranks of Romans, glaring up at Jason, then Percy as if they'd done him a personal wrong.

"Flying around in some glorified warship does not make you the recipients of some great prophecy!" Octavian shrieked indignantly. "Crossing the Atlantic proves nothing but that you are guilty criminals, running from your crimes against New Rome! Why should we trust you?"

"You will notice that we have made no move to fire on you, Octavian," Percy said in a carefully measured voice, forcing back his rapidly rising irritation. "We have no intent of—"

"Yet!" Octavian interrupted, jabbing his silver knife into the air. "You haven't attacked us yet. I swear to you, Perseus Jackson, you will pay for the damage you have inflicted upon our great city! You and your crew," he spat, crazed blue eyes flashing across the deck.

"Just let me explain—" Percy began.

"And you, the mighty Jason Grace!" Octavian continued, ignoring Percy as he glared daggers at the still hovering Jason, flecks of foam appearing at his mouth as he strangled the teddy bear in his hand so violently its button eyes appeared to be popping out of its head. "Our beloved praetor. Nothing but a filthy graecus traitor! Both of you!" he screamed, eyes flicking from Percy to Jason and back again. "You shall die for your treachery! You—"

_"ENOUGH."_

Percy had never been more happy to hear the sharp, cold, utterly commanding voice of the single lasting praetor of the Fifth Legion Fulminata rise above Octavian's frenzied screaming.

Reyna swept upwards on her peanut butter pegasus Scipio, her golden armor glinting in the morning sunlight as she hovered to a halt a discreet distance from a certain Jason Grace. Her dark eyes burned down at Octavian, her regal bearing and stern look making the augur look like a mere rag doll wrapped in tinfoil armor in comparison.

"I will hear what they have to say," she said shortly, succinctly, her tone brooking no argument. "Anyone who wishes to attack will answer to me." Her threatening gaze briefly scanned the legion, as if daring anyone to challenge her.

Finally, her piercing eyes met Percy's. "I will hear you," she repeated. "But make it quick, Jackson."

For a moment, Percy couldn't find his voice. "Right," he murmured. "Okay," he continued louder, "the reason for the rift formed between the Greek and Roman camps goes back millennia, back to the Parthenon in Ancient Greece. When Rome invaded the country,"—Percy barely stopped himself saying "our" country—"they stole something from the temple that was very precious to we—er, the Greeks. That something was a statue called the Athena Parthenos."

Fresh whispers burst from below, but Percy barreled on over them. "However, we, or rather Annabeth Chase, have retrieved this statue from where it has been hidden in Rome for thousands of years."

"What?" called a voice from below, one that Percy recognized as Malcolm, second-in-command of the Athena cabin. "The statue's been found?"

Excited cries rose from the Greeks, mostly from the Athena cabin, but most of the others just look confused.

One voice carried distinctly over the wave of noise: "How?"

Percy jumped slightly to find Reyna had flown up beside the ship, boring into him with her flashing dark eyes.

One-by-one, cabin by cabin, row by row, the demigods quieted, all looking expectantly once more up at Percy.

Immediately, Percy launched into a retelling of their quest, beginning from the moment they had left the wreckage that had been New Rome. He glossed over certain parts, like the points where the Romans had caught up with them and the embarrassing situation of being caught in a giant fish bowl. Although he was sure to stress the unwilling duel between him and Jason and the following discovery of the possessing spirits, eidolons, residing within Jason, Leo, and himself. He recounted their journey across the Atlantic, their arrival in Rome, and the place at which they all parted ways. Again, he skipped specific details such as the time Annabeth and he had spent touring the streets of Rome and stopped for lunch in a small café before she set off on her solo quest of almost death.

At this point, he faltered, unsure of whether or not to go into the details of Annabeth's mission. He sent her a questioning glance.

Annabeth's face was unnaturally blank. She held out her hand for the megaphone.

Surprised, Percy lowered the mouthpiece from his face. "Are you sure?" he murmured. "If you don't want to I could—"

"No," she said gently, but firmly. "It was my quest. I'll tell them what happened."

Reluctantly, Percy passed her the plastic cone. For a moment, Annabeth stood still, eyes closed, as if composing herself. Then the flashing grey orbs that Percy had come to know and love flew open, the megaphone was before her light pink lips, and she commenced the story of her terrifying quest, beginning from the moment Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn—that is to say, Tiberinus and Rhea Silvia—dropped her off at the entrance to the tunnels from their powder blue motor scooter.

The silence throughout her story was total, every face fixed, wide-eyed, on Annabeth. Even Octavian managed to hold his tongue, though the increasing red flush to his cheeks might not be a good sign either.

The moment of the _Argo II_ blasting through the ceiling came, and Percy tensed uncomfortably, knowing what came next, but determined not to freak out at the mention of the name of the place found in his worst nightmares—and daymares.

He listened nervously, dreading every word as Annabeth described the crumbling chamber, the valiant efforts of the Seven in saving the Athena Parthenos from a terrible fall... And then their subsequent slip through the cracks of the scene—quite literally. By this point, Percy realized he was gripping Annabeth's hand so tightly it was turning purple. With enormous willpower, he forced himself to relax his grip.

"Wait," Reyna said, speaking for the first time since the beginning of the story. "Are you telling me you fell into _Tartarus_?" The skepticism in her voice was almost palpable.

Darkness clouded Percy's vision, his knees half-buckling beneath him until he remembered the thin hand still clasped in his, clutching his fingers tightly as if sensing what was happening.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered.

Percy latched onto the sound of her voice, concentrating on the feeling of her hand in his, and shook the curtain of blackness from his sight. The whole escapade had only taken seconds.

He met Reyna's incredulous stare, boring into her eyes in not quite a glare. "Yes," he said calmly. "We fell into Tartarus." With some apprehension, he waited a second for an impending flashback; but none presented itself.

"And for that reason," Annabeth said, "I think it would be best for someone else to continue the story seeing as we were somewhat... _preoccupied_ for the remainder of the quest."

Whirling around abruptly, she passed the megaphone to Jason, who had apparently joined them sometime during the long narrative, and marched to the back of their little group, dragging a very relieved Percy along with her.

Percy listened with some interest as Jason explained what had happened on the _Argo II_ 's end of things. Between long hours of unconsciousness and his slightly crazed determination to free Annabeth from the giants, he realized he'd never gotten the opportunity to ask how things had gone on their end.

Nevertheless, his attention began to wander. With a start, he realized just how close he and Annabeth had come to dying. Like, really _really_ close this time. And considering how often their Fate strings led them through mortal peril, that was saying a lot. It's like those three old ladies knitting their stupid socks had it down for Percy and Annabeth to live lives that resembled loose, black, knotted balls of frayed goop rather than stockings. And considering his horrible luck, Fortuna hadn't decided to step in much either.

He glanced yet again at Annabeth, whose steely grey eyes were focused on Jason with a faraway expression. He could see the cracks behind the stoic gaze that would never heal, the slight downward curve of her mouth as she concentrated on nothing, her lips parted slightly and her eyebrows furrowed in attempted indifference and confidence. But Percy knew better.

This time, it was his turn to wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer until she was pressed against his side. Annabeth remained stiff and unyielding for only a moment, then seemed to sag into him, her right arm stretching around his torso so they stood as one on the deck of the _Argo II_.

The corners of Percy's lips quirked. He was back at Camp Half-Blood. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans had made any threatening move toward the other since they'd arrived. Annabeth was in his arms. And that was all that mattered, really.

All too soon, Percy's bubble of thought and temporary happiness burst to be replaced by a new wave of nervousy as Jason began the conclusion of his speech.

Percy shot Leo a significant look over his shoulder. Immediately, as if he'd been waiting for the prompt, the Latino nodded in understanding, slipping away gratefully from where he'd stood half-hidden behind Piper in an attempt to avoid Reyna's imminent stare of death.

And within moments of Jason finishing his account with their arrival at Camp Half-Blood, Percy heard the creak of pulleys from the ship's hull, the distinct bang of the glass bay doors falling open. Gasps, cries, and finally cheers erupted from the audience as the Athena Parthenos was lowered from the ship, emerging feet first and growing steadily taller until she stood proudly on the hill overlooking the strawberry fields of Camp Half-Blood.

"This is our proof that every word we've spoken is true," Jason said loudly. "We have come to you as a representation of demigods from both camps who have overlooked our differences to accomplish what neither one could have done on their own. We have defeated Gaea. We have brought back the Athena Parthenos, which we Romans wrongly stole from the Greeks thousands of years ago." He gestured for Percy to join him at the prow, and Percy reluctantly unwound himself from Annabeth to stand beside his cousin.

"As praetor of New Rome," Jason called, "I, Jason Grace..."

"And I, Percy Jackson, Roman praetor and Greek cabin leader." (Percy resisted the urge to grin at the startled murmurings from the Greeks at the revelation that he was a praetor.)

"Offer this statue back to Camp Half-Blood as an offering of peace," Jason announced. "Our camps should no longer be divided, but united. Together, we can accomplish so much more than either camp alone."

"We propose a treaty," Percy continued. "A sworn oath of cooperation and friendship between both sides. After all..." He grinned lopsidedly. "We were all born from the same gods."

Approving calls came from a majority of the still watching demigods, and Percy was relieved to hear only a few boos and hisses (Clarisse and Octavian being prominent among them).

But Percy knew there was only one person that mattered, who would have the final say. As one, Jason and Percy fixed their eyes on Reyna.

"Do you accept our offer?" Jason asked quietly.

For a moment, there was complete silence as Reyna regarded Jason impassively. Once, Percy could've sworn her eyes flicked to Percy before settling back on the son of Jupiter.

"I accept the proposition," she said finally.

"I second that!" Malcolm cried gleefully from the ground, his smiling teeth clearly visible.

Cheers and whoops broke out on the Greek side; loud, uniform foot and spear stamping from the Romans, effectively drowning out Octavian's yells—at least, Percy assumed he was yelling as his mouth was open, his face cherry red.

Percy shot Reyna a wide smile, seeing a similarly beaming Jason Grace embracing Piper out of the corner of his eye. A small, almost imperceptible smile appeared on the usually stoic praetor's face.

"See you in the Big House?" Percy asked, gesturing at the giant farmhouse near the base of the hill.

"Indeed, Jackson," Reyna said. "Indeed."

And with a quick pull of the reins, she was gliding toward the Big House.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," came a wonderfully familiar voice. He turned to see Annabeth standing behind him, her golden curls shimmering brightly in the sunlight as she gestured with a barely concealed smirk to the edge of the boat. "Leo's about to let down the ladder. Ready to come home?"

A broad grin stretched across Percy's face as he grasped her proffered hand. "I was born ready."

* * *

 

The sun was setting over Long Island Sound by the time negotiations were complete. Overall, Percy thought they'd gone over pretty smoothly. Besides the flaming teddy bear, but other than that nothing unusual. The look on Octavian's face when he discovered the official meeting was to take place around a ping pong table had been _priceless_.

With a happy sigh, he settled back into the soft sand of Camp Half-Blood's beach, watching what remained of Apollo's sun chariot dipping under the water. Despite the cool breeze, Percy was quite warm and contented sprawled on the whispering sand with Annabeth curled up at his side, his chin resting in her honey lemon curls. He wondered if they would bounce like a spring if he were to pull one like this...

"Beautiful sunset," Annabeth said suddenly, driving all thoughts of bouncing hair from his mind.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Perfect end to a perfect day."

Annabeth snorted. "If a day like today is your idea of perfect, I'd hate to see what a horrible day is."

"I was only half serious," Percy defended. "I mean, sure most of it sucked, but the important things went right. Gaea and her giants have been defeated, the gods helped out"—he barely stopped the "for once" that threatened to escape—"the Greeks and Romans are more or less buddies now, and we all got home in one piece." He met her piercing grey eyes, suddenly serious. "Though for us, that might be saying too much."

Because Percy was sure there were some parts he and Annabeth had left behind on the other side of the Atlantic. Parts he wasn't sure they would ever get back.

Annabeth sighed, trailing her finger in random patterns in the shifting ground as she stared out over the horizon, her lips pursed lightly. "I suppose so. But are you really surprised?"

Percy thought for a moment, recalling briefly the horrors they had experienced in the darkest depths of hell. "No," he admitted.

"No one can walk away from something like that unscathed," Annabeth murmured. "I know that. But..."

"It still hurts," Percy finished softly.

Annabeth nodded stiffly.

Percy drew her closer as she buried his face in his chest, resting his cheek against her head and rubbing what he hoped were soothing circles into her back.

For a few moments, the only sounds were the tiny waves lapping at the shrinking shoreline, the faint chattering of very happy campers drifting from the open pavilion what seemed like light years behind them.

"How did you stand it?" Annabeth cried finally, turning her face up to his. "Even being with you, now that everything's over I just can't stop thinking about it." She took a shaky breath. "How'd you handle it all on your own?"

"I had a little bit of help," Percy admitted. "But it wasn't easy. I don't think I would've healed for a long time, if at all. But maybe now..."

"It'll be easier," Annabeth breathed.

"Hey," Percy whispered, pecking her lightly on the cheek, "as long as we're together, right?"

"Together," Annabeth agreed.

In the same breath, they tilted forward, closing the remaining tiny gap between them so their lips met in the middle. Warmth rushed through Percy, tingling from his lips to the tips of his toes.

And for the first time in months, Percy felt safe. Everything was right with the world. Anything could happen right now, a pack of hellhounds could explode into existence in front of them, and Percy wouldn't care. Because as long as Annabeth was at his side, Percy could conquer anything.


End file.
